


World Gets Dark

by jhunieilarde



Category: The Order (TV 2019)
Genre: Angst, Continuation, F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:53:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 29
Words: 61,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27972650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jhunieilarde/pseuds/jhunieilarde
Summary: Set after Season 2...Something is wrong with Vera Stone and it's not good for everyone.(...just because The Order deserved season 3. I'm making my own. Enjoy!)
Relationships: Alyssa Drake/Jack Morton, Hamish Duke/Vera Stone, Lilith Bathory/Nicole Birch, Randall Carpio/Gabrielle Dupres
Comments: 79
Kudos: 79





	1. Where We Pick Up

It started small. Little dizzy spells here and there and then migraine that felt like her head is about to be split in half. Then, the nightmares came, and it shook her every single night. She would wake up covered in sweat and gasping for air. Still, she shrugged it off and carried on simply because she has to. Even though without her magic, she is still the Grand Magus of the Hermetic Order of the Blue Rose. Of course, that will change when the Council finds out about her loss of magic but as long as no one knows about it, she must keep doing her job.

Hamish has been preoccupied lately so she did not bother telling him about the changes happening in her. He got his hands full with his pack and covering for her whenever she needs to ‘perform’ magic.

At first, she thought it’s the cancer that’s doing this to her. She’s without magic now so there’s nothing stopping the cancer from devouring her life but something is off with the symptoms. If it’s cancer, she’s not supposed to get nightmares from it. No. It’s not cancer. She fears it’s far more sinister than that.

Vera stood in front of her reliquary facing the dark magic section. Her guts are telling her the answer she’s looking for lies with those books if she can only find which one. She started browsing with each book until her eyes burns.

“What are you doing?” Hamish asked.

She had not heard him come in her office. The sight must have been a shock for him. She’s on the floor, surrounded by old books. It’s very anti-Vera Stone to be so…unguarded.

“Reading…why are you here?” she answered then asked him back.

“I was checking up on you. Is this a research about bringing your magic back? The pack is on it, you know”, he answered.

It’s a normal statement if Vera is not attentive to details.

“The pack? Which pack? You and Mr. Carpio are not even a pack”, he looked like someone who got caught in the act. “Ms. Dupres, from what I understood, is under strict training and isolation. Mr. Morton has disappeared with Ms. Drake’s body and the Vade Maecum. Ms. Bathory is in the Demon Realm. What am I missing here, Hamish?” she asked.

She got back up on her feet so she can try to level the eye contact.

“Vera, I need to tell you something. Lilith is back”, he answered.

“Okay…can I ask how you were able to do it?” she asked again.

Her heart is pounding. She has a bad feeling that they screwed up once again, like stealing her inventory was not enough. _Hold that thought_ …everything started with her inventory getting stolen together with the sickles she was supposed to use to banish Rogwan and then… _Rogwan_ …

“Nicole and Randall found an incantation from one of the spell books we managed to recover from Praxis. We did it right about the time you and Alyssa had closed the eruption and we got Lilith back but…we didn’t know what it cost. Magic has a price. What we did, the cost was too high and irreversible”, guilt is written all over his face.

Vera can already taste in her mouth the spell they used. She’s just waiting for him to spill everything.

“We’re the reason why Kepler is missing. She’s dead”, he answered.

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. She knew it at the back of her mind. The Order has been looking for Kepler for weeks and they couldn’t find any trace of her. She now knows why. The incantation just sucked the life out of her and her life force couldn’t be traced. The Council coming after the Knights is the last thing she needs right now. It’s not just because Hamish is covering for her loss of magic. It’s because if that happens, a war will erupt between the Order and the Knights and that means lives will be lost. She hates it when people die around her and there’s nothing she can do about it.

“Vera”,

“You’re dismissed”, she whispered.

“Say something please…”

“I don’t want to deal with this right now. Please leave”, she insisted.

“Vera, I’m sorry—”

“I SAID GET OUT!” something just snapped inside her and the next thing she knew, Hamish is already coughing on the floor. His head is bleeding and staring at her in shock.

She can feel it running in her veins. It is not magic. She knows what magic feels like. It’s something else. Rogwan. Her brain keeps darting towards that Emperor Demon. He attacked her when she tried to banish him using incantations. She did not give it much thought when she came to because they have pressing matters at hand at the time and she just completely dismissed it because she was fine but now? She is now convinced that Rogwan did something to her. It just did not take effect right away because of her magic which was enforced by the Fors Factoram. Whatever Rogwan did to her couldn’t penetrate her magic but now it’s gone. Alyssa had taken it away and took it with her to her grave. There’s nothing to protect her and she’s changing into what?

“You got your magic back”, Hamish muttered.

He has already healed from her sudden outburst and just in awe that she’ll be fine. She got her magic back and can defend herself once again.

“I don’t think we can classify this as magic”, her voice is low and distraught.

“Why? What’s wrong?” he asked in concern.

She wanted to tell him but what good would it do? Her magic or whatever it is that is in her should be the last thing Hamish should worry about. They killed Kepler. They need to take care of that.

“It’s nothing that concerns you”, she took a deep breath and waved her hand and the books that were scattered onto the floor flew back to the shelves where they belonged. “The Council will come for your heads if they find out what you did. We need to clean up your mess before they trace her life force back to you”, she replied instead.

Hamish had expected her to be angry. Her reaction earlier was more his preferred one than this passive-business-like side of her. She’s hiding something. He wanted to ask her but she’s right. He needs to take care of the pack right now. If Vera is willing to help them, he will gladly take it.

\----------------------------------

THE DEN

Randall is busy watching Gabrielle and Lilith go over the basics of being a werewolf. In her need to find herself, Lilith took it upon herself to teach Gabrielle how to be a Knight. It helps. He noticed her coming back to herself little by little. There were times when they all woke up at the sound of Lilith screaming. She said it was only a nightmare but her shaking every single time told them that it felt more real than the actual reality. A part of her remains in the Demon Realm like a piece of the Demon Realm remains in her. It is evident on the markings on her face. Nicole fears the same too. Lilith and the Demon Realm are still connected although they are grateful that she does not refer to it as her home anymore. They consider it as progress.

“Guys”, he heard Hamish called.

It took a few seconds before he realized Hamish was not alone. Their leader came in the house followed by Vera Stone. Randall’s first instinct is to grab Lilith and hide her somewhere in the house but it’s too late now. Vera’s eyes are already fixed on Lilith who is staring back at her.

“Seriously dude?” he asked Hamish.

Hamish was about to respond when he heard growling before it flashed into his eyes. Lilith’s eyes turned silver. Her fangs showed as her claws came out and she launched towards Vera fast. Thanks to the reflex of Gabrielle and Randall, she was stopped before she was able to claw out Vera’s heart…or rather Hamish’s heart out because he somehow stepped in front of Vera to protect her from Lilith.

“Lil, come on. Stop. It’s the Grand Magus”, Nicole said to calm her down but it did nothing.

“She’s going to kill all of us! She’s going to kill everyone!” Lilith exclaimed as she tries to break free.

Gabrielle sighed and muttered a spell that put Lilith to sleep. Randall caught her and carried her to the sofa.

“We’re very sorry about that, Grand Magus”, Nicole apologized.

“Sorry? Why would be sorry? Why is Lilith so angry with you? Why did she say that?” Randall fired one by one.

Vera recovered from Lilith’s episode and glared at Randall.

“You want a reason to be sorry? How about be sorry for killing Kepler?” she spat and it shut him up. “Yes, I know, and I should be beheading all of you right now for murdering the Head Councilor of the Gnostic Council and so far you’re all still standing here. Now, standing here all day is not going to protect you from the Council once they trace Kepler back to you so do you want to spend the entire day protesting here like a child or you’ll take my help before I change my mind?” she added.

It calms Randall to know that she’s there to help them. After all, it was him who killed Kepler. He just made everyone else an accessory to his crime.

“…the last option”, he muttered.

“Good. Now, the first thing that needs to happen is for Kepler to resurface. She needs to be found otherwise the Council will not stop looking for her until they find her to you”, Vera started.

“She’s buried at the woods”, Gabrielle volunteered with guilt.

Vera nodded at her.

“Good. Dig her out. Then, we need a story. Kepler didn’t just die of an accident. She was murdered. Sacrificed for an incantation and we will stick with that but we will change the people who did that to her”, she continued.

Hamish caught on with Vera’s plan.

“Praxis”, he supplied.

“We recovered some of their things. Plant it all over Kepler’s ‘murder’ sight. Make it look like a failed offering of some kind. The Council will focus on that since Praxis is already our enemy. They wouldn’t care about anything else. Make sure not to leave anything that they can trace back to you. Ms. Dupres and Ms. Birch know the spell to clean up DNA traces”, she added.

“What about Lilith? The Order knows she’s at the Demon Realm”, Randall asked.

“Tell them I got her out. They will believe it”, Randall raised an eyebrow, “…or you prefer to tell them the truth?” she asked.

“You got her out. Got it”, he agreed.

“Mr. Duke will look for a spell to remove that markings on her face. Any questions?” Vera asked everyone.

They all shook their heads.

“Good. Get moving”, she said and left the Den, taking one last look at Lilith who remains unconscious on the sofa.

\-----------------------------------

VERA’S HOUSE

Hamish had been giving her an update about the covering process of Kepler’s murder by the Knights. She remained at her house the entire day trying to determine what exactly is happening to her. If Hamish is not a werewolf, she could have killed him earlier at her office. She’s not safe to be around at the moment. It’s not what Lilith meant earlier when she said she’s going to kill everyone. It’s not because she cannot control her power. She meant something else. She can see it in the girls’ eyes.

Vera faced her mirror and noticed how her skin went pale. She’s always been pale but not like this. There’s something sinister in the way her skin feels. She felt the urge to touch the mirror for some reason and she allowed herself to do it. Flashes of images invaded her brain as soon as her skin touched the mirror.

_‘Vera’_

_‘…my dear, aren’t you divine?’_

_‘I have been waiting for you for a very long time’_

“Stop…” she breathed out.

_‘You and I will have great things to do, you will see’_

“…stop”, she repeated.

_‘Mine…mine…mine…’_

“Stop!” she yelled and pulled herself back from the mirror which cracked and shattered onto the sink and down the floor, leaving her panting alone in her bathroom.


	2. Mine

The Knights have done as they were instructed. Their lives depend on the plan. Randall remains baffled that Vera decided to help them instead of having them punished for what he’d done and what he made the others do. Perhaps, he underestimated her. Perhaps, Hamish and Jack had been right about her but there’s something that’s bothering him. Lilith’s sudden outburst when she saw Vera was bothering his brain. When Lilith came back, she had been losing her temper here and there but not to that extent. It’s not she did not recognize Vera. She did. That was the point. She recognized her and screamed that Vera will kill them all, that Vera will kill everyone. What did she mean by that?

Nicole and Gabrielle had doubled the sleeping spell on Lilith before they took off to setup Kepler’s ‘murder’ site. The two of them were needed there to cast the spell to remove any trace of Randall on Kepler and any of them from the body. Once they’ve done that, all of them returned to the Den.

“I’m going to check on Lil”, Nicole said before disappearing upstairs.

“I’ll make dinner. I am starving”, Randall said.

“I’ll help”, Gabrielle added and the two went to the kitchen.

Hamish took out his phone and texted Vera that it’s done. She had not been responding to any of his messages and he figures that she is mad at him for not telling her the truth and for helping his pack disobey her order to wait for her. This could be her way of punishing him for it, by avoiding him. She may decide to help them stay alive but that does not mean that she forgives them for what they have done.

“Guys!” he heard Nicole yelled from upstairs before she came running down the living room.

“What is it?” he asked.

Randall and Gabrielle rushed from the kitchen to the room too.

“She’s gone”,

“What do you mean she’s gone? We doubled that spell. She should still be snoring right now”, Gabrielle cut in.

“She’s not there! I went to her room and she’s not there. I searched the entire second floor and she’s not there. She’s not here too. She’s not at the house”, Nicole exclaimed.

Hamish’s body took over and he just bolted out of the door. He knows exactly where Lilith went. He’s not sure if the others followed him. He does not care. If his guts are right, he needs to get there fast before it’s too late.

\----------------------------------

VERA’S HOUSE

She just finished cleaning the broken pieces of glass scattered all over her bathroom when she felt her stomach rolled. She quickly rushed to the bowl and poured what is left of her dinner from her stomach. Her entire body shook as she heaved. She feels like crap. No. Actually, she feels like dying while feeling the unexplainable power coursing through her veins. It is just odd in all the places. How can she feel like dying and powerful at the same time? When she’s done, she washed her mouth and brushed her teeth at the sink. She did not bother mending her mirror. She does not feel like looking at her own reflection anywhere. With that in mind, she decided to remove every mirror in her house and throw them outside. Thank goodness for her unexplainable power, she was able to remove them telekinetically.

Once that’s all done, she went back to her bedroom and changed. _Rest_. Yes. That’s all she needs. Maybe when the morning comes, all of these will go away. Maybe it’s just a very bad dream like one of those nightmares she’s been having every single night. In the morning, everything will go away, and things will return to normal…whatever normal is these days. She lied down on her bed and closed her eyes and allowed sleep to claim her.

\----------------------------------

FEW HOURS LATER

_‘Wake up’_

_‘Wake up, Vera’_

Vera shot her eyes open only to meet pair of silver ones on top of her. They’re not the usual silver ones she’s glad to see. Her sleeping brain caught up and realized it’s Lilith who’s hovering on top of her with her fangs and very angry eyes.

“Sweet dreams, Grand Magus”, she snarled and raised her right hand, showing her claws, to rip her heart out.

“LET.GO!” Vera yelled in reflex which sent Lilith flying across the room.

Vera jumped out of her bed as Lilith blocked her way to the door. The girl is very determined to kill her as it seems, and she does not know why.

“It is not my fault Rogwan dragged you to hell, Ms. Bathory, and I am helping your friends survive the consequences of the murder they commit to get you out. Why are you trying to kill me?” she asked in annoyance.

She does not appreciate being disturbed from her sleep and most importantly, she does not appreciate being attacked in her own home. It’s just plain rude and she can feel her own temper rising.

“I know what you are. I know what you’re going to do, and I cannot let you go through with it. I have to save them. I have to save them all from you”, Lilith replied.

Vera frowned.

“What the hell are you talking about? I have no interest in killing anyone other than Praxis”, Vera spat.

“You’re not aware of it but you will kill everyone. This world is going to end because of you, Grand Magus. You will end all of us. I have to stop it before it happens. You have to die”, Lilith responded.

Her temper is going through the roof. She normally has more control over her anger but right now, she’s losing it. She’s trying to hold back so she can talk Lilith out of it, but her silver eyes and fangs and claws and constant growling aren’t helping her calm down. When her eyes saw Lilith took a step forward to attack her, Vera just blacked out.

\----------------------------------

As Hamish ran like he’s running in Olympics to Vera’s house, the scent of Lilith grew stronger and stronger. His guts are right. She went to Vera’s house. He should have known. Lilith was very angry earlier when she saw Vera at the Den, but he did not think that Lilith would go all the way to her house. His eyes turned silver as Tundra speeds up his running.

As soon as he entered Vera’s house, he smelled iron. Blood. There is gasping and struggling upstairs so he ran to Vera’s bedroom and the sight almost left him breathless.

Lilith is suspended in midair. Her head is bleeding. She got blood on her arms. Some of her claws are misaligned with her fingers. She’s the one gasping and struggling. His eyes turned to the opposite direction and saw Vera standing there, focused on Lilith.

“Vera”, he called but he was ignored.

He heard Randall and Gabrielle entered the house, but he remained focused on Vera who does not seem to be aware of his presence.

“Vera”, he tried again but still, nothing happened.

“What—” he heard Gabrielle muttered when the two entered the room.

He grabbed Randall to stop him from going to Vera to stop her from whatever it is she’s going with Lilith. Randall growled at him but he has a feeling that if Randall does that, it will kill Lilith. Vera has to stop on her own. Somehow, Randall realized that too because he relaxed and took a step back. Hamish’s hand searched the wall to find the light switch and turned it on once he found it. It stopped everyone on their tracks when they finally saw what Vera looks like. She’s only wearing her black nightdress with one strap slid down her arm. Her skin is so pale they could all practically see her veins. Her lips are almost as white as her skin. There are dark circles under her eyes like she had not slept in weeks but it’s not what shocked them the most. It’s Vera’s eyes. They’re no longer blue. They’re pitch black, empty, void.

“Vera!” Hamish yelled to snap her out of her trance.

His voice is a mixture of his voice and Tundra’s and the sound resembled the sound of thunder.

She turned to him and he felt shivers down his spine.

“Mea est! Mea est! Mea est!” Vera yelled back in a voice that’s not hers before she collapsed onto the floor.

Lilith dropped on the floor as well. Randall and Gabrielle tend to Lilith while Hamish went to check on Vera who felt ice-cold in his arms.

“How is she?” he heard Gabrielle asked.

“She’s too cold but I can feel a pulse. How’s Lil?” he answered then asked them back.

“She’s healing! We’re bringing her back to the Den”, Randall answered.

“Alright!” Hamish lifted Vera from the floor and brought her to her bathroom.

He then turned on the water at the tub and waited until it is filled with warm water. She needs to warm up. She’s too cold. Without bothering to remove her nightdress, he picked her up and put her in the tub. She remained unconscious as he guided her body to go under until only her head is out of water. He prayed in his brain for her to wake up. He fears that whatever the hell just happened has harmed her. Her pitch-black eyes still haunt him when he closed his eyes. He does not understand what’s going on.

_‘Mea est! Mea est! Mea est!’_

His Latin is not very good but he understood those words. She said, _‘mine, mine, mine’_. Well, at least, she uttered those with her lips but not her voice which scared him more.

Vera suddenly comes to and gasped. He cupped her face to ground her from what’s at present. Her eyes are now back to their natural color and looking at him in confusion.

“Hamish?” she asked.

She cannot remember him being at her house. In fact, she cannot remember anything else after Lilith wanting to kill her. Now, she’s in her bathroom with Hamish and she’s under the tub with her clothes one.

“I have to get you to warm up. You were so cold. Sorry about the nightdress”, he said.

The nightdress is the least in her concern right now.

“Ms. Bathory, she was here earlier. She wanted to kill me”, she mentioned as her eyes searched the space behind him.

She could still be there waiting for an opportunity to attack.

“Don’t worry about her now. Randall and Gabrielle took her back to the Den. We shouldn’t have left her alone in there. We were executing the plan about Kepler and when we got back, Lilith was already gone”, he informed her.

“Hamish…what happened? How did I get here? How did you get here?” she started asking.

If there’s one thing she hates, it’s not being able to remember something. It is why she can understand the Knights dismay when they got their memories back and why she had not punished them for taking revenge on her by stealing her inventory.

“When we got here, you already got Lilith handled…” the images of it flashed through his brain causing him to shiver. “What was the last thing you remember?” he asked.

“I remember waking up. No. Someone asked me to wake up. I don’t know who and when I opened my eyes, Ms. Bathory was already on top of me and about to rip my heart out. I stopped her and pushed her away. She insisted that I have to die and then…I don’t remember anything else after that”, she answered while doing her best to remember.

Hamish sighed and caressed her damped hair.

“You got her good. She was floating in midair and you looked different”, Vera remembered the feeling she got when she touched her mirror, “…your skin was so pale and your eyes…they’re black. I tried calling for you but you couldn’t hear me, I think and when you responded… _mea est_ …three times with a different voice”, he explained.

She closed her eyes and she can still hear that voice who spoke to her before it all happened. _Mine…mine…mine…_

“Hamish…I think Ms. Bathory may have been right”,

“What?” Hamish frowned.

“I think there’s something wrong with me”, she added.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for the positive responses!


	3. The Talk

Hamish listened as Vera told him everything she’s been experiencing after her magic was lost or rather taken away from her by Alyssa. She told him her theory about the time she faced Rogwan and failed to banish him. He can still remember that day. He was standing next to her when Rogwan hit her with something and she fell unconscious. He was the one who caught her before she hit the floor. He couldn’t help but beat himself up for what’s going on with Vera. If it was not for their magic heist, she wouldn’t have any problem in banishing the demon because the sickles would have been still at her vault. They wouldn’t have trouble with the Sons of Prometheus. They wouldn’t have given the idea on how to steal Vera’s inventory to Salvador and Lilith wouldn’t have been taken to hell with Rogwan.

“Lilith…she’s sensing something in you”, Vera frowned at Hamish, “…when we got her out, she was so disoriented. She thought we pulled her out of her home. She thought that the Demon Realm was her home and not this world. There were nights she would wake up screaming from nightmares. We think that she’s still connected to the Demon Realm through the demon mark on her face. If you’re right, if Rogwan did something to you, Lilith can sense it somehow”, he hypothesized.

Vera considers his point. It’s plausible but if they take that theory, then it will make all the things Lilith said to her true. She’s going to kill everyone. Can she really do that? Can she really kill everyone? Hamish?

“I think I need to talk to Ms. Bathory”, she suggested.

“What? She just tried to kill you in your own house”, he expressed.

“I am aware, Hamish. I was here, remember?” she hissed.

“Give it time. We can’t just talk to Lilith after she tried to kill you”, he proposed.

Vera pinched the bridge of her nose and composed herself.

“Hamish…” he hears her sigh, “…I don’t think we have the luxury of waiting. Look at me”, she muttered.

He took one good look at Vera and despite her eyes being as normal as they should be, she looks sick. How was he able to miss all the changes in her aside from her loss of magic?

“Alright…we will talk with Lilith but I will go inform the others ahead so they will be ready”, he agreed.

\----------------------------------

AT THE DEN

They couldn’t understand why Hamish would insist on bringing Vera back at the Den when it’s clear that Lilith is so angry at her to the point that she wants to kill her in her own house, to hell with the consequences of it all. Randall wanted to say no but Gabrielle was right. It has to be really important otherwise Vera wouldn’t step at their house too while her life is at risk.

When Lilith comes to after hours of healing, she insisted on going back to finish job but Nicole managed to calm her down and explained to her what will happen if she kills Vera Stone and that will include Nicole getting killed too by the Council being a party to the crime. That worked on Lilith. She couldn’t risk Nicole getting hunted down too because of her. She knows that. When she returned to the land of the living, she found out what Randall had to do to get her back and what Nicole was forced to be a part of. She couldn’t add more to that.

“Lil, there’s something else you need to know”, she gave Randall her full attention, “Hamish is on his way here to talk to you…with Vera”, he continued.

She growled at the sound of Vera’s name.

“Listen, Lilith. The Grand Magus wanted to talk to you because…she’s lost too”, that shut up Lilith. Randall turned to Gabrielle. “…after she lost her magic, something has been happening to her. Hamish said on the phone that she couldn’t even remember what happened with the two of you earlier. Vera thinks that you can help explaining to her what’s going on with her. You and I both know what it’s like to lose yourself and how difficult it is to get back. Vera is probably going through the same thing right now…even worse. If you can help, wouldn’t you?” Gabrielle said.

“It’s not that easy. She’s dangerous”, Lilith spat.

“All the more reason to help her then. She’s not just anyone, Lilith. She’s the Grand Magus of the Hermetic Order of the Blue Rose and the only reason why we’re still alive right now. She’s keeping the Council from cutting all our heads. If you think so badly that she’ll be the end of us all, couldn’t you think any other way to prevent that other than killing her? Because we’re all still be dead even you kill her, you know”, Gabrielle argued.

They all agreed to her even Lilith. Of course, she does not rule out the option of just killing Vera but that will not solve the threat to their lives. If she can somehow help Vera without killing her, maybe they can finally live in peace.

“Fine. We can talk but if she does anything, I am ripping her heart out”, she yielded.

\-----------------------------------

FEW MINUTES LATER

Hamish does not want to go through this but Vera insisted on talking to Lilith and when Vera Stone sets her mind on something, there’s no changing it. He went in first, testing the waters and when he found everyone waiting by the living room, he signaled for Vera to come in. He stayed in front of her, protecting her from Lilith’s unpredictable mood swings.

“Relax, Hamish. Lilith is ready to talk now. I promise”, Randall said and Hamish eases but did not let his guard down completely.

Lilith held herself back but keep a cautious eye on Vera as she settled across from her.

“Alright…I will not beat around the bush. What do you mean when you said that I will kill everyone, Ms. Bathory?” Vera asked.

Lilith can sense her nerves laced in her tones. She is nervous and scared which lessened her desire to kill her right then and there. She couldn’t remember Vera Stone sounding that way before. She’s always tough and cold. This is a different side of her. Maybe she’s always been multifaceted, but she does not let anyone see it. Hamish did. Lilith is sure that if she tries to jump on Vera right now, Hamish will throw her against the wall in a second. The last time she saw him like this was back when he gets drunk and he thought she’s Cassie.

“It’s Rogwan”, Lilith took a deep breath, trying to recall her time at the Demon Realm, “…when I was down there, there’s this talk of a prophecy. The Father of Evil, as what we called him, is destined to find his queen in this world, someone worthy, someone equally powerful. In this world, the only thing that’s been stopping the demons from coming out is the Hermetic Order of the Blue Rose. The Order is the only organization powerful enough to banish demons back to their world. The Father of Evil declared that his queen will be the Order’s Grand Magus but since the dawn of time, all of the Order’s Grand Magus had been men. You are the first female Grand Magus of the Order and on top of that, you managed to cheat death for years after you performed Fors Factoram Incantation which made you qualified to be his mate”,

Hamish grip on Vera’s hand tightened.

“Rogwan is the only demon that’s set to resurface to Earth every 27 years so when the Father of Evil found out about you, he tasked Rogwan in claiming you”, Lilith answered.

“Claiming?” Hamish asked.

“It’s sort of a ritual in the Demon Realm when a demon took interest of a human for a mate. They put essence of darkness in them and wait for it to take over that person’s entire being while the demon back in the realm performs ritual to strengthen and speed up the process. They also communicate with their prospect mate. When the essence did it work, their mates don’t need any persuasion. They would come to the Demon Realm on their own volition where they will be converted as demons too”, she answered.

Lilith watched as Hamish turned to Vera with fear in his eyes. She couldn’t help but feel guilty for trying to kill Vera. He had already lost one love and he’s about to lose another.

“If I got completely claimed by whatever this is, what then?” Vera asked.

“You’ll be the Mother of Evil. Once that happened, the Father of Evil will breakthrough to this world and it will be the end of everything. You two will turn this place into literal hell and your would-be children will resurface and everyone living will die”, she answered bluntly.

Vera hummed and nodded slowly before getting back on her feet to absorb everything. She tries to analyze all of it so she could come up with something to stop the essence of darkness working in her body that’s trying to turn her into a reluctant wife of the Father of Evil. She would be lying if the lure of power is not tempting especially since she lost her own magic. The essence of darkness gave her back power, more power than she had ever had in her life. It is begging inside of her to open herself up to it, to relinquish control. She suddenly stopped her pacing.

“Vera”, Hamish called in worry.

“Magic”, all eyes turned on her as she works her brain, “…this starts when I lost my magic, when it was taken from me. Rogwan knocked me out but it took months for it to manifest”, she processed her thoughts out loud.

“Your magic…it’s blocking the essence of darkness. That’s why it took so long to take effect”, Hamish concluded.

Lilith realized that too. Vera was fine when they were planning on how to send Rogwan back to hell before she got dragged there with him.

“So, the solution to help the Grand Magus is to get her magic back”, Gabrielle suggested.

“Uh…there’s one problem to that. The only person who can return her magic is dead”, Randall said before he can stop himself. “Sorry”, he followed up.

“It’s alright”, Gabrielle replied.

Hamish figures it’s the only way to help Vera. They need to get her magic back which means ripping Alyssa’s rotting heart from her corpse that they don’t have any idea where is right now. Plus, they would have to go through to Jack who is definitely guarding her body right now and doing god knows what with the Vade Maecum. What could be worse? Jack might hate them forever but at least the world will be intact, and no one will die. They have to help Vera because killing her is not an option…over his dead body.

“We will get her magic back. Alyssa does not have to be alive for us to do that”, he suddenly said.

Randall frowned.

“Dude, you’re not serious about eating the heart of Jack’s dead girlfriend”, he muttered.

Hamish glared at him.

“You got a better idea? We let the essence of darkness consumed Vera and we’re all dead. We let Lilith kill her, the Council will hunt all of us until we all die”, he snapped.

It is not pretty and it feels foul to desecrate Alyssa’s body but it’s the only way that they can all stay alive in the end.

“Alright…even though it’s disgusting, I’m in”, Randall gave in.

Hamish turned to Lilith who is reading Vera.

“Lil?” he asked.

“For the record, I don’t take pleasure in wanting to kill you, Grand Magus. If there’s a way we can stop the Father of Evil from destroying the world without killing you, I’m in”, she answered.

Vera nodded in appreciation.

“No need to ask me. I’m in”, Gabrielle volunteered.

“Alright…now here’s the plan—”

Hamish was cut off with a sound of explosion and Vera groaning after she went through the wall of the house and landed at the kitchen.

“Jack? What are you doing?” he heard Randall asked.

His eyes lit up in silver and turned to Jack who’s on the verge of turning into Silverback. He’s holding the Vade Maecum which might have been the one he used to attack Vera.

“Get out of the way, Hamish. She needs to die”, Jack said.

“Touch her again and I will kill you myself”, Hamish replied.

Nicole gasped when she saw Vera getting back on her feet at the kitchen through the shattered wall. She’s cracking her neck left and right before spitting out the blood on her mouth. The others turned to Vera whose eyes had turned pitch black.

“ego sum ille qui est ad illum occidere”, she responded.


	4. Say Yes

All of them tensed at the sudden change in Vera despite having seen that before…except for Jack. Lilith prepared herself to attack in case Vera does something while Hamish is doing his best to calm her.

“Vera, listen to me. Jack did not mean it. Come on. I know you can fight it”, he urges.

Jack frowned at Hamish. He clearly missed a lot.

Vera stepped towards them but remained silent. There seems to be a struggle in her eyes as it flickers between blue and black.

“That’s it. Keep fighting it. You’re stronger than those demons. You can out stubborn them all”, Hamish kept on going and it’s working.

Slowly, the interval between the flickers of colors in her eyes got longer as she tries her best to get the control back from whatever it is that’s taking over her body. It would have been fruitful if it was not for Jack who casted another spell on her.

“What are you doing?!” Gabrielle yelled at Jack.

“I’m sorry but I can’t let her bring the end of the world. I have to do this”, Jack apologized.

“Oh, you’re such a dumbass! We already have a plan to help her without having to kill her. You would have known that if you have been here. You kill the Grand Magus and you’re going to get us all killed!” she exclaimed.

Vera groaned as she got back on her feet for the second time now. Her eyes no longer flicker. They remained murderous pitch black and focused on Jack.

“Vera, come on…just listen to me—”

No matter how hard Hamish tries to penetrate Vera’s mind, it’s not working anymore. She’s too pissed and she’s determined to kill Jack.

“I’m sorry, Hamish”, he frowned at Jack who had the grimoire opened in his hands, “ego mittam te—”

He was not able to finish that incantation. Suddenly, Jack dropped the grimoire and he started floating in midair. Vera slowly raised her right hand and started swaying her fingers while Jack matched it with his screams. They can all hear his bones cracking and breaking as Vera moves her fingers gracefully. Lilith decided to step in and launched on Vera. She managed to scratch her arm before Vera sent her back and she landed on Hamish’s bar. Randall joined in to attempt to subdue her but Vera already takes it as an attempt to kill her just like what Jack was trying to do, what Lilith had tried to do. She raised her left hand and Randall started floating too.

“Grand Magus! No!” Gabrielle yelled.

As much as she wants to join in, she knows it’s only making it worse. The more they tried to fight her, the more she thinks they’re trying to kill her and she’s going to defend herself.

“Vera, they’re not going to kill you. Just let go and we can talk. Please. You don’t want to hurt them. You know that. You will not hurt these kids because you care for them. That’s why you’ve been doing your best to keep us all alive when you have all the reasons in the world to kill us. Fight it, Vera!” Hamish exclaimed while cupping her pale face.

For a moment, Vera’s eyes returned to blue without releasing both Randall and Jack. Hamish saw guilt and confusion in her eyes as well as the tears she’s been holding back.

“Hamish…” she whispered.

Lilith, on the other hand, saw it as an opportunity. A moment of weakness that she can use to her advantage. She pushed Nicole out of the way and jumped on Vera who had seen it coming and let go of Randall to deal with her as her eyes returned to black. It was like slow motion in Hamish’s eyes. He needs to do something to stop this. His eyes turned silver and he growled so loud it shocked everyone. He then used his right hand to push Lilith away and his other hand to get Vera out of Lilith’s path. It could’ve been the end of it. Jack had dropped to the floor. Everyone’s out of the death’s grip when Hamish smelled blood. _Vera’s blood._

He turned around and saw Vera backed up against the wall…or what’s left of it, staring at him with wide now blue eyes. Her chest got four slices on it where the blood is coming out freely. He tried to go to her but she stepped back even though she got no space left. It confused Hamish as to why she’s acting like that towards him when he realized she’s now staring at his left hand. He followed her gaze and saw his bloody fingers. Her flesh is still evident in his claws he had not realized came out during that brief moment. He was the one who had hurt her.

“Vera, it’s not what you think”, he started when he realized why she’s backing away from him.

All of them except of Gabrielle and Nicole had tried to attack her and now with her blood on his hand, she resurfaced from the darkness that took over her to find out that he had hurt her too. She must think that he’s in on it too, that it’s all an ambush. He agreed to let her talk to Lilith to get her to the Den. He had called them first before they went there. He said it himself. Why else would Jack show up right on time to kill her? It’s just a trap. The plan is not real. They’re just riding along with her, buying some time for Jack to arrive to get the job done. Hamish is part of it too, just like he’s a part of the plan to rob her blind right after he fucked her down that very same vault. How can she be so blind and naïve? She’s been protecting these people who had only one goal from the start: to kill her.

“Stay away from me. All of you”, she muttered before she used her power to get herself out of there in a flash leaving a shocked Hamish and the others.

“What just happened? Did she just teleport?” Randall asked while he catches his breath.

In his anger, Hamish turned to recovering Jack and slammed and pinned him against the wall as he lets his claws digging into his throat.

“I see your mouth moves to spit some spells, I will rip your throat out. This is all your fault”, he hissed.

“How is this my fault? It’s Vera who’s about to raise hell on earth and you’re blaming me?” Jack argued.

“All she needs is her magic back! When Rogwan hit her with the essence of darkness, it did not take effect until your traitor girlfriend stole her magic to force her hand to give her what she wanted. It is your fault when you planned that magic heist to get even with her for saving our lives from the Council because little Jack lost his memory and decided to take everything in her vault including those damn sickles which could’ve sent Rogwan back to hell before he could infect her with that wretched essence”,

Jack is now staring at him with shocked eyes. Of course, he does not know all of that. All he knows is the prophecy and that’s all.

“Now, tell me where you hid Alyssa’s corpse so I can eat her heart and bring back Vera’s magic to stop all of this”, Hamish demanded.

Jack sighed and shook his head.

“You can’t eat Alyssa’s heart, Hamish”, he muttered.

“Really? But you have no problem killing Vera Stone, the woman who have saved your life a bunch of times”, Hamish spat.

“You can’t eat Alyssa’s heart because she’s using it to stay alive”, Jack revealed.

Hamish let go of him and all of them surrounded Jack with question marks on their faces.

“Please elaborate”, Randall demanded.

“I was always planning on bringing Alyssa back. That’s why I took the Vade Maecum. The price was too high but because my father was already tied up and absorbed by the book, I didn’t need to do any sacrifice to bring her back but I can only use that privilege once. So I used it to bring Alyssa back. It was a painful process. I had to go to the Collective Unconscious to find her soul and that’s where I was informed by everyone in there about Vera. They were saying that if I don’t stop her, everyone will die. Alyssa said the same thing when she returned from the dead. Apparently, it’s a big news in the land of the dead. All they talked about is the Mother of Evil coming to power and everyone from hell will come up here. Alyssa and I spent weeks trying to find a way to stop Vera from becoming the Mother of Evil but we couldn’t find anything”, Jack explained.

“Okay, but there’s a way to stop that from happening. Alyssa is alive now. She can just give Vera her magic back”, Nicole said.

“Yes, but she couldn’t do it right now. Coming back from the dead takes a lot of time to recover from. She can barely walk now and she’s trying to relearn it. For the first two weeks, Alyssa couldn’t complete a sentence. She had tried to use her magic to close a door and nothing happened. She’s alive but she’s not completely fixed yet. She needs more time”, Jack explained further.

“…but we don’t have time left. Rogwan and his demons are winning”, Hamish hissed.

“We find another way. I’m sorry, Hamish, but I just got Alyssa back. I can’t let you kill her again. You understand if it’s Vera. You will protect her too with everything you’ve got”, Jack said.

Hamish’s anger towards him diminished. Of course, he can understand that. He’s willing to kill Jack earlier for Vera. He will do anything for her.

“Then what do you suggest we do?” he asked.

\-----------------------------------

TEMPLE’S VAULT

It is the only place Vera could think of where she will be safe. Aside from herself, no one else have access to it. Alyssa and Kepler are both dead and Hamish only got there because he was holding her hand. She collapsed against the pillar as she heals herself. She still couldn’t believe that Hamish could hurt her like that. It’s the last thing in her mind. He could hurt her with his actions but at the end of the day, she will always understand it because he’s also a leader and his decisions come from being a leader of the pack. Perhaps, it is why he tried to kill her as well. It’s a leader’s decision. She’s a threat, a very big threat not just to the Knights but to the humanity. She’s now destined to wipe everything and make earth a home for demons. Any leader will order her execution. She knows she will if it’s any other person but she failed to consider that Hamish is capable of hurting her himself. He did not just order it. He gotten his hands dirty with her own blood.

_‘Betrayal hurts, doesn’t it?’_

“Oh shut up…” she whispered as she closed her eyes and tried to heal herself faster.

_‘I know the feeling. I’ve been betrayed before too by those who were closed to me, those I treat as family. It’s the worst feeling of them all’_

“Get out of my head”,

_‘You know they will not stop. They don’t believe you’re strong enough to fight. They’ve always been after your throat and you know it. How many times did they play you?’_

“Get out…”

_‘He did not only betray you. He also betrayed your heart. He fooled you into thinking that he cares’_

“Please…leave me alone”, she pleaded.

_‘…but dear, you are alone. You are alone now more than ever. No matter how many times you show them that you care, they will not see it. They only see you as their enemy. How long are you going to let them hurt you like this? How long are you going to let them make a fool out of you?’_

“STOP! PLEASE!” she cried out loud.

She’s just too tired at this point. Staying herself is a struggle. It drains her energy and she’s emotionally spent.

_‘Say yes to me…’_

“No”, she sobbed.

_‘Say yes and you will never be alone again. No one will even dare to fool you again, to hurt you. They will bow at your feet, beg for your mercy’_

“No”,

 _‘Say yes and I will give you everything. I will give you your daughter back’_ Vera cried harder, _‘…say yes to me, Vera, and you will know no pain ever again. You and your daughter will be together and happy as it should have been all along. Say yes. Say yes, Vera…’_

With no fight left in her body, she started to doze off right after she uttered the word, “Yes”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this one is very hard to write. i just felt so heavy on my chest but it makes a good chapter. 
> 
> what do you think about this one?


	5. Keep Moving

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i should warn you ahead of time...this is heavy.

TEMPLE

The Knights had divided themselves in search for Vera’s whereabouts but they’re unsuccessful. They have not found her at her house, her office at the campus, and anywhere at the temple. They couldn’t think of anywhere else she could have gone in the entire Norwich…except the idea that has been lingering in Hamish’s head.

“I know where she is”, he muttered and decided to follow his guts and proceeded to open the door to the vault.

The others followed him but stopped just before the entrance when they saw the inscription above which had stopped them each time they tried to break in before.

“Hamish, you don’t have the necklace with you. You’re not going to be able to get through it”, Jack warned.

“I will. I need to get to her, Jack”, Hamish replied before started walking the tunnel.

\-----------------------------------

HAMISH’S NIGHTMARE

He’s back in the same forest as the laughter of the doll chases him. He knows what he’s fear is going to be. He knows what it would look like but this is not about him anymore. He got much bigger purpose than surpassing his own fear. Vera needs him and he’s not going to let her down, not again, not when he’s part of the reason why this is happening to her. The doll had appeared right in front of him and Hamish froze. His whole body went limp as his breathing became ragged.

“You could do this. You could do this”, he kept telling himself but the doll only laughed at him each time he encourages himself.

He kept on stepping forward hoping that his feet will take him to the door of the vault where Vera is. He knows she’s in there. It’s the only place in the entire Norwich where she can be safe from everyone, including the Knights.

“Let me through. Vera needs me”, he said to the doll who’s doing its best to block his path.

With the image of Vera’s face in his mind, Hamish persevered to keep on moving. The doll seemed to notice that its presence no longer bothers him, it frowned and the scenery changed.

Hamish is no longer inside the forest. He is at Vera’s living room.

“Vera?” he called.

Is he back at her house or is it part of the nightmare?

“Vera?” he repeated but no one answered.

He kept walking forward until he reached the kitchen where he found Vera lying on the floor covered in blood.

“Oh my god…” he quickly knelt beside her and felt for her pulse which is no longer there.

He tried to heal her but nothing is happening. She is already dead. Hamish sunk onto the floor and started sobbing. _This is not happening,_ he thought. She couldn’t be dead. He’s supposed to get to her first and help her. She couldn’t be dead. This is not how it’s supposed to end. As he slowly drowns in the overwhelming grief, he felt his hide urging him to go on and continue what he started. Tundra is doing its best to push him back to reality. What was he trying to do anyway? With Vera lying dead in front of him, he couldn’t think clearly.

_Vera…_

Yes, he’s supposed to get to her in the vault. He’s crossing the tunnel that’s exploiting his deepest and darkest fear. It had done that with the doll but he overcame it in his desire to save the woman that he loves so his fear had changed. It changed into an image of Vera being dead. It is his biggest fear, more than his fear of the dolls. He fears that he will lose Vera like how he lost Cassie. It is his fear, that he will not be able to save her the same way he failed to save Cassie from being killed. Since it was the pack who started Vera’s ordeal, the guilt and his love for her made his fear of losing her so immense that it top his fear of the dolls.

It’s all in his head, just like the doll. This is a test. He fears that he will lose her but he definitely will if he sticks to crying beside her imaginary corpse and do nothing. The only way to save her is to keep on moving. Even though his entire body protests, he forced himself to move from the paralyzing fear and started crawling before being able to walk and then run again until his hands felt the door he’s been searching for.

\---------------------------------

THE VAULT

Everything went back to normal as soon as he was able to open the door and stepped inside. He looked back and despite feeling the others’ presence at the entrance, he couldn’t see them. The door closed on its own as soon as he let go of them. His eyes wandered to find Vera but all he sees are some of the recovered artifacts of the Order, things they have stolen from Vera.

“They looked strange, don’t they?” her voice echoed throughout the vault.

He turned left and right but he couldn’t see her, couldn’t even sniff her. All he can sense is that overwhelming dark clouds all over the room. It felt like something has died in there and is rotting.

“You know why my vault looked so strange. There are pieces missing…pieces that were stolen from me by the people I had saved from imminent death”, she continued.

“I’m sorry, Vera! We all are. We did not know any better then. Please, talk to me!” he yelled and just like that, Vera appeared in front of him.

He gasped at the sight of her. She has changed…a lot.

Her raven hair falls at both sides of her cheek which is as white as snow. Her eyes are black and there is blood on her corneas. Her lips are pale, like they’re lacking blood. Her clothes are different from earlier. She’s now dressed in dirty white dress and her feet are bare. She’s still stunning but something is off. There is no light in her, no fire. She feels cold in every way, even her voice.

“It is impressive the way you crossed that tunnel without the pendant but I should have expected more from the leader of the Knights of St. Christopher. After all, you are the clever one”,

Her words are laced with venom.

“What’s your fear, huh? Was it still the dolls? Were you able to overcome it?” she asked.

What the hell just happened to her?

“I did, I think. I got a new fear”, he answered.

“Oh yeah? Do tell”, she urges.

“Losing you”, Vera stopped pacing and glared at him, “I know what you must think about what happened earlier but it’s not like that. I was trying to get you away from Lilith. I was not trying to kill you and neither does Randall. I did not mean to hurt you. It was an accident. You know I could never hurt you”, he explained.

Vera scoffed.

“You only have the stomach to fuck me in this room and then robbed me blind afterwards”, she spat.

It is something he regrets…not the fucking part but the robbery. He had no idea there’s something going to happen between them that night. If he had known that she feels the same way, he would have called it off but it was too late when he returned to his apartment.

“That was not my intention. I have explained this to you”, he muttered.

The candles around them lit up brightly.

“Well, look at me, Hamish. Take a good look”, he did, “Can you still tell me what you said to me that night while I look like this?” she dared.

He knows what she was trying to refer to. He can remember everything about that night. They were lying onto the floor of the vault wearing only each other. He was cradling her hair.

_‘This is a mistake’, she said._

_‘What is?’ he asked._

_‘This. You’re a wer— disciple. You’re a disciple and I am your Grand Magus. I shouldn’t be fooling around like this’, she answered._

_‘Is this what you feel this is? Fooling around?’ he asked again._

_He felt her took a deep breath._

_‘It does not matter what I feel about this. You’re never going to like me anyway. You’ll see’, she answered._

_He cupped her face with one hand and lifted her face so she could see his face._

_‘I don’t just like you, Vera Stone. I love you and before you say anything, there is nothing that you can do that can change that’, he declared._

He didn’t know why he did. It was surely a spectacular sex but it was not enough to make him go head over heels for Vera right away. The truth was, he had always been in love of her before he found out she’s part of the Order. She had always caught his attention being the badass Chancellor that she is. Her leadership swept him off of his feet and the more he got close to her, his feelings got stronger.

“I love you, Vera Stone and before you say anything, there is nothing that you can do to change that”, her expression softens, “You can look whatever the hell you want. Be as pale as you want. I still love you, Vera. I will always love you”, he said with everything he got.

For the first time since he saw her again, he found a trace of the Vera he knew in the woman in front of her. She’s still in there.

“He promised to take all the pain away and he did. I don’t feel pain, Hamish…but at the same time, I don’t feel anything else. I am just…empty”,

He? Who is she talking about? Is she referring to the Father of Evil?

“I can have my daughter back again, did you know that? All I have to do is get out of here and we can be together again. I was going to. I lost the care for everyone else out there until you walked in here. I…I started feeling something again”,

Did the Father of Evil promise her that she can be reunited with her daughter? How is that going to work? Her daughter will definitely not going to be in hell with him.

“…at first, I was angry at you…but my problem is, I can never be truly angry with you”,

“We can help you. Alyssa is alive. Jack brought her back. She just needs more time to gather herself and she can bring your magic back. You just need to fight a little longer”, he said with a hopeful smile.

Vera returned it with a sad one.

“I made a choice, Hamish. I said yes to him and look at what I’ve done. Right now, I am causing chaos outside and I haven’t done anything yet. I am the Mother of Evil now, Hamish. My very existence is the one wreaking havoc into the world. If I step outside of this vault, the gates of hell will open and my children…all of them will come out and destroy everything”,

“You don’t want that to happen. That’s why you’ve been waiting down here. You could have gone out hours ago and you decided to stay here. Whether it’s subconscious or not, you stayed here because deep down you’re still Vera Stone. You’re not the Mother of Evil. You’re you. We can stay here if you like. We can wait for Alyssa to be ready down here. I will stay here with you for as long as it takes. You don’t have to be alone. You don’t need to be because I am here. I am always here”, he insisted.

She stepped closer to her and held his hands.

“There is only one way to stop all of this, Hamish, and Lilith has been shouting that from the start”, she suggested.

“No”,

“I will kill everyone, Hamish”,

“No, Vera”,

“This is the part where you have to think like a leader and make sacrifices”,

“I will not kill you, Vera”, he pushed and fought.

Vera wrapped her arms around his body as he did the same. He can feel her rapid breathing and her heart beating despite the coldness of her skin.

“I love you, Hamish, but you have to do what you need to…please”, she whispered.

Hamish closed his eyes and held her tighter.

“somnus aeternum”, he casted and he caught her body as she fell unconscious within his arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> don't panic...don't panic...don't panic...
> 
> that's all i can say for now. =)


	6. Hang Tight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Hamish's broken heart

VERA’S OFFICE

The others decided to wait for Hamish at the office just in case some disciples decide to come in and poke their noses in their business. Randall still could not erase in his head the way Hamish looked while his brain was caught up in his nightmare. It’s pure anguish and terror and for a moment, he looked like he was able to fight it but then, he started crying, sobbing over the empty floor. It took him a while to realize what Hamish was seeing in his head. Randall glanced over Gabrielle and he knew his hunch was right. Hamish’s fear had changed from being terrified of a doll to fear of losing Vera Stone.

He knew his friend has a thing for the Grand Magus and it was cute at first. He had a great time teasing him about it but it still surprised him when that thing got so much real between them. It made him scared for Hamish. He was there when he lost Cassie. He saw what it did to him and now, he’s on the verge of losing Vera one or another if Alyssa couldn’t get herself ready on time. He fears that Hamish wouldn’t be able to survive the second time around.

“Hamish”, he heard Gabrielle exclaimed.

Randall turned around and saw Hamish carrying an unconscious Vera Stone in his arms. Gabrielle quickly shut the door and locked it from the inside and tend to her Grand Magus’ side when Hamish brought her down to the couch.

“She’s alive”, they all looked at Hamish, “…when I got there, it’s too late. The Father of Evil already got to her. She was at a loss. She thought that we betrayed her, that all we wanted to do was to kill her. That demon bastard used that to get inside her brain. He promised her a life without pain. He even promised her to bring her daughter back. Vera had given up and said yes”,

“What?” Jack muttered.

Lilith stepped forward but Hamish glared and growled at her.

“One more step and I will rip your throat out”, he warned.

“If what you said is true, it’s too late for her now. She’s the Mother of Evil! We have to kill her before she kills everyone!” she exclaimed.

“She’s not the Mother of Evil!” his voice mixed with Tundra’s and it echoed throughout the office. Nicole had backed away from the wolves in fear. “Vera is still conscious in there or otherwise she would’ve left the vault hours ago. The enchantments of the vault were the only thing keeping the gates of hell from opening. She could have killed me down there but she did not. Instead, she asked me to kill her to save everyone. Would a Mother of Evil do that?”

Lilith did not say anything.

“This is our fault. All of us. She saved our lives from the Council by taking our memories away and we robbed her in return. That stupid heist started all of these. What’s happening to her right now is on us. I am not going to just kill her without exhausting every possible options and right now, we have a strong one. We got Alyssa back. She gets herself fix and ready and then she can give Vera her magic back and this will all be over but until then, Vera remains asleep. No one is going to touch her. If any of you try to do anything other than to help her, I am not going to stop Tundra from killing all of you”, Hamish fought back.

He is not usually emotional when making decisions but this is Vera they’re talking about. He’s not the only one on edge. His hide is on the edge too. When it comes to Vera Stone, the two of them are very much in sync. They both like her. They both love her. They both will do anything to save her even if it means going against their own kind.

“You used one of the spells from the Vade Maecum”, Jack noticed.

“You said Alyssa needs more time. I am giving her that time. Vera would have healed her that day if she had given her, her magic back. You know that, Jack. She would despite Alyssa betraying her. This is Alyssa’s turn to do the right thing, to correct her mistakes. I trust that you will not let me down”, Hamish said.

The two had an understanding. Jack had asked for mercy. Jack had asked for time. He is aware of Alyssa’s mistake in taking Vera’s magic and he knows that Hamish will do anything to save Vera even if it means killing Alyssa again. Now, Hamish had given him what he asked for. He had given him time. He must also give Hamish what he asked for and convince Alyssa to return Vera’s magic.

“I won’t”, Jack replied.

\-----------------------------------

VERA’S HOUSE

Hamish did not leave Vera’s side. He is still paranoid that the others will try to sneak up and kill her when he’s not looking. It is the easy solution to their demon problem but he’s not going to let anyone harm her. He fought off sleep as much as he can and when he slipped up and dozed off, he knew Tundra is replacing him on guard duty.

He took care of Vera as days went on. He cleaned her up, changed her clothes. Randall came by and hooked her up on IV drips. Sometimes, he stayed to cook meals for Hamish who had neglected his own health for Vera. He did not want to take his eyes off of her. He does not trust anyone to be with her especially his own pack. More days past and Gabrielle came daily with cooked meals for him and updates about the temple. She had been guising herself as Vera to cover for her. She had perfected the spell so no one suspects anything. Plus, she has magic so she can supervise lessons without a problem. She’s just thankful that they’re not facing any threats from Praxis at the moment because decision-making concerning the Order is way beyond her capabilities right now. She may disguise herself as the Grand Magus but she’s not the Grand Magus.

Soon, Hamish grew to trust Gabrielle and he allowed her to stay with Vera for a few minutes so he can clean himself up, but only for a few minutes. He made it clear that Lilith is not allowed to be in Vera’s house and everyone understood it.

“I don’t know if you can hear me, Vera, but I would like you to know that I am here. I am right here beside you like what I promised you. I told you I will not let you be alone. You’re not. I am here. Just hang on there, okay? Jack and Alyssa will be here shortly and you will have your magic back. You will be free from the darkness. Your life will return to normal. You will walk around Belgrave in your high heels and make the students and teachers drool all over the hallway as you walk by. You will boss around your disciples…and me at the temple. You will continue to be the amazing person that you are. Just hang tight…help will be here soon”,

He wiped away the tears that had escaped his eyes and held her hand to anchor him. He ran his fingers over her pulse just to feel her alive.

“Want me to tell you a story? I think this is the best time to tell you this story because I know you’re not going to let me finish if you’re conscious so…this is my chance”,

He chuckled and felt her pulse again.

“…that day we finally met at the Den, you were at the basement cooking potions. You were so busy that you did not notice me coming down there. Randall had informed me that Jack said you’re helping us defeat Coventry and I had to see it for myself. You were cursing the entire basement because it was so disorganized. The herbs were all over the place and it was driving you nuts to find them one by one for your potion. It was a refreshing thing to see the composed and well-mannered Chancellor cursing the jars and herbs and shelves and spider webs like a sailor. Then, you started doing magic. You spoke Latin so well, I thought I heard music coming out of your lips. You’ll probably roll your eyes right now because it’s so cheesy but I swear to you, it’s true. There’s no need for you to look at any spell books. You know your thing incredibly well and you did it with so much grace. Do you remember the first thing you said to me that day?”

He looked at her face. She looked so peaceful sleeping.

“You said, _‘if you’re just going to stand there, better grab a broom and started sweeping because this room is disgusting’_ ”, he laughed, “I did not know what to feel whether to be amused or to be offended that you’re insulting our basement. Then, we talked about the plan and why you’re helping us. You said that even though Coventry used to be your friend, you just couldn’t stand by and let him destroy everything for his ambition. That moment on, I knew I’m yours forever. I was actually planning on asking you out after we’re done fighting Coventry but unfortunately, I got powdered and forgot about that plan for a year”,

He gently tucked a few strands of her hair to her ear.

“…when we got our memories back, I should feel angry at you. Everyone else did but I just couldn’t bring myself to do so. The first time I saw you with my memories back, my feelings for you just got stronger. You see, I remembered everything you did during those times when we couldn’t remember anything. Lilith got trouble at her class and you secretly talked to her professor and bailed her out. Randall was failing and you forced his advisor to give him a special test even though his advisor was against it. Gabrielle was making Jack ditch Ethics subject for Arts and you did not allow that because you knew how much Jack adores Ethics. You were the one who called me a cab after I got so drunk at the bar so I could go home. I remember all of that and I knew there must be a reason why you took our memories away and Alyssa explained it to us, that you did it to save our lives from the Council”,

He held her hand tighter.

“I wanted to ask you out after that but the plan was not to let you know we have our memories back and things escalated and the heist was planned. I thought maybe it’s for the best. After the heist, we run and start over and you will be relieved of us. Then, you approached me at the bar that night. You complimented my drink. You did it again when I made you another. You looked conflicted that night. You were sad. I started talking nonsense about history and literature and stuff and you listened with your full attention to every word I said. You told me I should get out of Norwich while I still can, that I am too smart to be a TA forever. I could see you wanted to say more but you’re holding yourself back because you thought I still didn’t have my memories. You looked guilty and I couldn’t help myself. I wanted to tell you that you shouldn’t be, that it was not your fault, that we should be grateful because you saved our asses but I couldn’t, so I went to you and just pulled you into my arms”,

He smiled at the memory of the first time he felt her in his arms.

“You were tensed but then you eased up and let me comfort you. I wanted to hug your sadness away. Then, you allowed me to do more than that and it was the best unplanned thing that ever happened to me. I wanted to call off the heist after that but it was too late. Everything was in motion. That was the biggest mistake of my life. I failed to be a leader that night and lost my tongue, my ground…and now, it is costing me you. So, you have to be strong because I have a lot of making up to do, you know. I am yet to show you that I will not lose my tongue anymore, my ground when it comes to my feelings for you. I will fight for you, just stay with me, yeah? I know I couldn’t give you what _he_ had promised you. I don’t have that kind of power. All I can give you is all of me and I do hope that’s enough because you, Vera, is more than enough for me…I love you so much, it hurts”, he expressed as the tears now flow freely from his eyes.

“Hamish”,

He went on full alert more and turned around with his silver eyes and saw Jack standing there with Alyssa.

“Easy, it’s just us. We’re not here to hurt her. I promise”, Jack said.

Hamish relaxed and glanced over Alyssa.

“How you feelin’?” he asked her.

She looked a little sick, pale, and her hair is longer, but she’s very much alive.

“I’ve been better”, she stared at Vera. “She’s going to destroy us all, Hamish. What if this does not work?” she asked.

“It will. I know it will”, Hamish answered with conviction.

She looked hesitant. After spending time in the afterlife, she knew how bad it would end if the Mother of Evil was unleased into the world. She is conflicted.

“Alyssa…please…give her magic back. If I have to kneel, I will do it. This is the only peaceful way to help Vera and I would really want to avoid violence right now”, Hamish insisted.

Jack looked at her with pleading eyes. He, too, does not want things to get bloody, not after hearing what Hamish has said to Vera.

“Alyssa, please”, he seconded.

Alyssa took a deep breath, closed her eyes and then casted, “Magicae illam revertetur”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i almost cry twice while writing this...just so much feels.


	7. Control

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: this is dark. I mean really, really dark.

DEMON REALM

Vera opened her eyes and found herself on a very luxurious bed. She’s dressed in a long red satin dress she never remembered owning. In fact, she does not recognize the room she’s in. The last thing she remembered, she’s down at the vault with Hamish. She was begging him to kill her and save everyone from the hell she’s about to unleash. He might have done it because he’s not around. _Is this the afterlife?_ She wondered. If it is, she did not expect it to be so…luxurious.

She got out of the bed and roamed around the room. The closet is filled with very expensive dresses. When she caught a glimpse of herself on the mirror, she looked normal. Her skin got color and her eyes are the usual color. It’s like nothing had happened to her. Afterlife has been kind to her.

Outside the bedroom is more space. She keeps on walking until she reached a grand hall. _Wait_. Is she inside of a palace or something? The whole place is decorated like a five-star hotel. She is starting to get confused. Jack has mentioned once about a Collective Unconscious and she had expected something similar for her afterlife but this is far from what Jack had described.

“Lovely! You’re up! I was getting worried”, a voice startled her.

Vera turned around quickly, she almost got dizzy from it. A man is now standing in front of him. She couldn’t quite explain it. He’s obviously very well-off from the way he carried himself. His suit is well-tailored and she would be lying if she said he’s not good looking because he’s dazzling. He’s actually too good-looking.

“Do I know you?” she asked.

“We have not formally meet. The name is Victor”, he offered his hand which she took out of politeness. “I really don’t like being called the Father of Evil that much”, Vera tried to pull her hand back but he gripped it tighter, “It is a bit much, isn’t it?” he answered.

Her heart started pounding. Is she in hell?

“How did I get here?” she asked again.

“Well, your boyfriend put you to sleep instead of obliging your request to die. He loves you too much as it turns out. I figure, what better way for us to get to know each other than to meet face to face so, I dragged your consciousness here in my world so we can meet in person. You’re more beautiful than I ever imagined”, he answered with a charming smile.

So Hamish hadn’t killed her. He just put her to sleep and now she’s in hell and there’s no way she can escape unless Hamish decides to wake her up. The thing is, if he wakes her up and he had taken her out of the vault, she will open the gates of hell. If he does not wake her, she will be stuck in hell forever. None of the two options sounded good for her but the latter sounded much better for the sake of the world. The world will be safe. Hamish will be safe from her. Being stuck in the Demon Realm for eternity is a small price to pay for that.

“It seems that I will be in here for quite a while, can I have my hand back?” she snapped.

Victor smiled more at her tone and he let go of her hand.

“You are a fascinating woman, Vera Stone”, he muttered.

“Really?”

“Yes”,

“How so?”

“You like power but you don’t crave it. You just can’t imagine a life without magic. You had a taste of what it’s like to lose it and you hated every second of it and yet, I handed you pure power and you felt bad and guilty using it. Your self-control is astonishing. You’re not a saint. You don’t have high morals. You just don’t want to unlock the beast you caged inside you”,

“I don’t know what you’re talking about”, Vera cut in.

Victor smiled and took a step forward but she stepped back. He kept advancing as she kept on retreating until her back met the wall and there’s nowhere for her to go. She’s cornered.

“I think you very well know what I’m talking about. Everyone has a dark side and you know what yours is capable of. Edward Coventry witnessed that happen. How many did you kill that night? Seven? No. Nine. You murdered nine boys that night and you did not even feel sorry for them. You like danger, Vera. You like it more than you admit. Right now, I am making your heart beats faster but it’s not because you’re scared of me. I don’t scare you. As a matter of fact, I rather excites you, the very danger I represent makes you…flushed”, he said.

She had not thought of that night for years. It’s a memory she buried so far in her brain. Edward had sworn not to ever speak of it and he had kept his end of the bargain until his death. It was a year after her daughter died. She had just been inducted into the Order and was invited to a party. Those fraternity boys decided to play tricks with the new girl or new girl in their eyes. She had spent a year isolating herself especially after her daughter died and that year was the first time she allowed herself to socialize. They drugged her drink and took her into one of the bedrooms in that house. Anger filled her up. Edward was the one who came into her rescue but that did not quench her anger. Her pent-up frustration after losing her daughter, being disowned by her parents and now, being drugged by those disgusting boys all piled up and she just exploded. After she fixed herself, she fought the nausea and made her way outside of the house and found those boys getting inside their van.

 _‘Let it go, Vera. It’s not worth it’_ Edward warned behind her.

 _‘When would it be worth it? When they’re successful in raping me?’_ she asked in a tone she didn’t recognize.

_‘Vera’_

_‘Inflammetur’,_ she casted and set the van on fire.

“That was different. They drugged me and if it was not for Edward, they would have raped me”, she argued even though it’s useless.

“Tell me you did not enjoy watching them burn”, Victor challenged.

She pursed her lips. She recoiled when he touched her face.

“What do you want from me?” she whispered.

“I want you to let go. Control got no place in this world. You are free to be whoever you want to be here. Be completely lost all you want. No one will judge you. Let go, Vera. I want to see the real you, unrestrained”, he responded and let her feel the warmth emanating from his body.

Vera fought the building exciting in her body. It is wrong. She tells herself over and over again. She’s getting excited by the Father of Evil for crying out loud.

“I can’t…”

“You can’t keep up the self-control forever, Vera. He is not going to wake you up. He just does not have the balls yet to end your life but you know he can’t afford to wake you up. What are you afraid of with losing control even just for a moment?” he asked.

Her breathing is becoming rapid as the temptation is making her self-control slip. What does she have to lose? She’s already in hell. She thought about Hamish. He’s going to be fine, she thought. He’s alive and so does everyone out there. She can be damned for eternity, it does not matter because they’re alive. He’s alive. It’s all that matters to her. Her eyes met Victor’s and she saw no love in them, no warmth, no adoration, only lust, danger, darkness. If circumstances are different, she will be repulsed by what she saw. They’re things she fought but there’s no use in fighting now. It’s over for her. Her fight is over. She did her part. She made the sacrifice and what waits for her is a lifetime in hell with the personification of evil. Victor’s hand wrapped around her throat but does not squeeze. Her breathing hitched. It is true that Victor does not scare her. What scares her is that he was right about his assessment of her and her side that she does not want to acknowledge that’s in her.

“I’m afraid that…I’m scared, that I won’t be able to stop”, she confessed.

His thumb ran over her lips.

“Then don’t stop”, he whispered before he latched his cold lips over hers.

_‘What the hell is wrong with you, Vera?’_

_‘You’re making out with the Father of Evil!’_

_‘Have you lost your mind?!’_

Her conscience had been ignored as she gave up all control she had and freed her dark side much to Victor’s delight. She didn’t know how they both ended up back to the bedroom she woke up at but they’re there. Victor hovered above her and feasted on her body and she let him. Still, despite being in the midst of the cloud of lust, there’s one face fixed on her brain. She grabbed Victor and stopped him from kissing her.

“I want _him_ ”, Victor frowned at first before understanding what she was trying to say.

Slowly, Victor’s face had turned into Hamish. Vera’s dark side dissipates, and she felt pain in her chest. Tears formed in her eyes.

“Ssshhh…don’t cry, my love. I am here”, _Hamish_ said.

She sobbed. Her rational brain is telling her that she’s only fooling herself but it’s the next best thing she can get given her situation.

“I already miss you, Hamish, and I will keep missing you”, she muttered.

“You won’t have to. I’ll always be here”, _he_ replied.

He kissed her and she allowed herself to remember how it was to kiss Hamish. This is her reality now. She opened her eyes and saw _his_ face. A smile formed upon her lips. _He’s_ there with her. She’s in hell and _he’s_ still there with her.

“Make love to me, Hamish”, she requested which _he_ obliged.

She couldn’t process the difference right now. She wouldn’t dare close her eyes, afraid that when she opens them again, _his_ face will be gone. _He_ undressed her and tortured her body with slow pace. When _he_ plunged in two fingers into her, it felt different but it made her moan nonetheless. It is _Hamish_ , she thought. It is _him_ and _he_ is touching her, making love to her. _He_ curled _his_ fingers and attacked her center with _his_ mouth and she cried.

“Oh my…”

Her fingers ran through _his_ hair and _he_ increased the pressure.

“I’m close…”

 _He_ hummed and the vibrations sent her over the edge.

“Fuck!”

 _He_ did not ease up and prolong her orgasm until she became limp. She looked at _him_ and _he’s_ still _him_. She can still see _his_ face. _He_ climbed above her and thrusted in her with one swift motion, her mouth hung open. _He_ felt different. The size is different. She felt pain as she tried to adjust, to accommodate the change but it’s _him_. She’s looking right at _him_. _He_ did not move slow or allowed her time to get acquainted to _him_. She bit her lower lip at the roughness of it. There is no love in _his_ eyes, only lust and possession. _He_ possesses her, all of her.

When _his_ eyes turned silver and then pitch black, she screamed and tried to get away but she couldn’t. Her reaction fed _him_ up and _he_ went faster. Vera closed her eyes this time and imagined it was the real Hamish on top of her.

“Open your eyes”, _he_ ordered.

She reluctantly did and met _his_ black ones. _His_ face is the same but _his_ eyes are not. Despite her fantasy for _him_ to be _Hamish_ , _he’s_ just not. _He_ put _his_ hand between them and circled her clit and she gasped.

“It is fucking sexy the way conflict dances in your eyes. Your mind is saying to run but your body want to stay and get fucked over and over. I can look like him all you want but it is me who will own you forever, Vera. You are mine. You are my queen. You are the Mother of Evil. Now, come for me”, _he_ expressed and pinched her clit and she came for the second time.

She heard _him_ groaned and _he_ followed her.

Vera lost count how long she’s been there since time really does not work anymore from where she is. Victor never took off Hamish’s face to please her and after each sex, she would curl into herself and cry until she had gotten used to it and just went numb. It’s her new life. It’s her hell.

Then one day, she felt something odd but familiar washed over her. Victor looked alarmed at first before his face went furious.

“NO!!!” he yelled before bright light hits her eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, i am preparing myself for all of your wrath and anger but my sick mind just wants to torture them for now.


	8. Awake

Vera gasped as she sat right up from the bed. The light hurts her eyes and she’s on the verge of hyperventilating.

“Vera, breathe. Come on, breathe”, she heard Hamish or at least she thinks it is Hamish.

When her vision adjusted, she recognized the room she’s in. It is her own bedroom…in her house. She felt a sting on her left hand when she tried to move it. A needle is pierced through her skin and connected to an IV drip.

“Hey, you’re alright. You’re alright”, she turned to her left and saw Hamish.

He is looking right at her with his blue eyes and his ever-charming smile. She can see relief in those eyes as well as love. She should be overflowing with joy right now but as soon as she realized that she’s been woken up by him, panic sets in.

“Why did you wake me up, Hamish? You have to take me back to the vault!”

“Vera”

“I can’t be out here!”

“Vera, wait”

“Hamish, take me back!”

“Listen—”

“…or kill me! You have to kill me! It’s not safe!” she exclaimed as she trashed on the bed.

Hamish did his best to stop her from moving too much before Jack was able to remove the needle on her hand. Her blood has stained her bedsheet after her vein from her hand got ruptured from her trashing, but they can heal it later. Right now, she needs to calm down.

“Your magic is back, Vera!” Hamish yelled which stopped her fast.

It took her a second to process what he just said. Her magic is back. Her magic is back…her eyes glanced to the woman standing next to Jack and she recognized it to be someone who’s supposed to be dead.

“Ms. Drake?” she muttered.

“How are you feeling, Grand Magus?” Alyssa asked.

The girl tried to give a little smile, but it came out strained. It is all too much for Vera to process. How is she alive again? How is _she_ alive and back to normal too? Could this be a trick by Victor? He tried to mess with her brain before. He showed her being back at the temple and everything was normal before he ripped it away from her so he could see her reaction. It was mental torture, and he did quite a number of that trick on her. He loved seeing her in pain. That’s it.

“I want to use the bathroom”, she whispered before getting out of bed.

She almost fell if it was not for Hamish who caught her fast before she hits the floor. She had not used her legs, her physical legs, for god knows how long. She has no idea, so she let Hamish guide her to her bathroom. It was an excuse. She’s not really in need to go to the bathroom. She just wants to get away from Alyssa and Jack for a moment.

“Are you okay? Do you want me to run you a bath?” Hamish offered.

A bath sounds nice. There is no bath in hell. She got a very spacious bathroom down there but there’s no use for it really. It’s just for show, to complete the illusion. Demons don’t really take baths.

“Yes, please”, she accepted.

She focused on the sound of the running water. There is no water either in hell. They got wine but it did taste bad. Another thing they conjured up to feel they have what the land of the living has. It’s an illusion. A lie preferred for the dwellers of the Demon Realm. When the bath was full, Hamish helped her get out of her clothes and helped her get into the tub. She let out a sigh of relief once she’s under the warm water. It is grounding her to reality. She’s back. She’s okay. She feels okay. Most important of it all, she’s no longer in hell with Victor.

“Vera…” she allowed herself to look at him, “…how are you feeling?” he asked carefully.

She reached out for his face and she gently cupped it with both hands disregarding the fact that her hands are wet. Hamish does not seem to mind either that he’s getting soaked. Her hands mapped out his features while he placed light feather kisses on her palms. Vera studied his eyes carefully, waiting for them to change into black but they did not. Instead, all there is, are love, worry, care, adoration, longing, and all the things Victor is not capable of feeling. She finally exhaled and accepted it’s all real.

“Sorry, I had to make sure it’s really you”, she muttered.

“It’s me. You know it’s me”, he said.

“ _He_ can look like you. I asked _him_ to…because I thought I will never see you again. I thought I will be stuck there forever. I had to make sure _he’s_ not playing tricks on me anymore”, she explained.

Now, Hamish is confused.

“Vera, who? Who are you talking about?” he asked.

“Victor…he’s the Father of Evil. When you put me to sleep, he dragged my consciousness in hell. I don’t know how long I was down there with him and I thought…that’s it. It does not matter really. You’re safe. Everyone is safe from me so I was okay with being stuck down there even if I have to spend eternity with him. I didn’t mind. I just knew I’m going to miss you very much so I asked him to look like you so it would hurt less. He did what I asked but he’s not like you. He, uh…he messed with me while he looked…while he’s wearing your face. When Ms. Drake returned my magic, that must have pulled me out of there and back to my body”, she answered.

He now feels guilty more than ever. He thought putting her to sleep was the best way to help her. Alyssa needed more time. Putting Vera to sleep made the essence of darkness in her became dormant allowing Alyssa to regain her strength. He had no idea that by doing that, he’s literally sending Vera to hell to be tortured by that evil.

“Vera, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know”,

“Stop. Don’t apologize. You did well, considering the circumstance. Although I am crossed you disobey me when I asked you to end my life but at the same time, I was grateful that you did not because I get to be here still and see you”, she stopped him.

“…but I allowed that monster to hurt you”, he muttered.

“You did not allow him to do anything. You did that to stop him and his plans. You had helped me fight this without dying. I have no idea how all of you pulled it off, but this is not your fault, Hamish. It is never your fault. You saved me. Even when the most logical choice is to kill me, you still fought for me and saved me”, she insisted.

She understood that now. Without the essence of darkness pressing and clouding her brain, she can see it clearly. He was not trying to hurt her that day at the Den. He was protecting her from Lilith and Jack. Randall was only trying to stop her from killing Jack. It was an accident when Hamish had scratched her chest. She gave in and accepted being the Mother of Evil and almost destroyed the world and instead of ending her, he had put her to sleep to give her a fighting chance. He saved her life and the world.

“I thought I was going to lose you”, he couldn’t fight it any longer. He just started breaking down. “I was so scared I was going to lose you”, he confessed.

“I thought I did lose you but everything’s fine now. We’re okay. We’re all okay”, she replied.

He looked at her, trying to detect any hint or trace of the essence of darkness in her features but he found none. She looks like her usual self.

“Do you still feel it? The essence?” he asked.

She allowed herself to be silent so she can feel it before she shook her head.

“No. All I can feel is my magic back”, she answered.

He smiled. It’s all he’s been dying to hear since he had put her to sleep.

“Don’t scare me like that again please…” he muttered while chuckling.

She smiled back. She wouldn’t wish for anyone to go through what she went through few weeks ago, even for her enemies.

“…not if I can help it”, she responded.

\-------------------------------------

After her bath, she went to the living room to talk with Jack and Alyssa. There, he filled her in on how he brought Alyssa back to life and the talk they had about her and why she had kept the Vade Maecum away from everyone.

“I want to apologize for my impulsiveness, Grand Magus. Magic is all I have. It’s all I am good at, really, and when it’s all messed up, I felt like I was losing everything. I was so angry that you wouldn’t help me and that the main reason why my magic got screwed up was in your possession all along. I didn’t even think that my magic problem was the least of your concern considering the problem with Praxis and the missing inventories”,

“…not to mention the pressure from the Gnostic Council”, Hamish butt in.

“Salvador came along and offered me help and she was able to fix me. I believed her ideas, her dreams. I supported her to the point that I consented and contributed on creating eruptions to blackmail you. She had tried to kill you during the parley and I failed to see that. Dying kind of brought me to my senses. I learned in an incredible hard way. I had to die to see everything. I let magic and ambition consumed me. I ignored your advice about how dangerous ambition can be. I compared you to Edward Coventry when I did exactly what he would do to get the Fors Factoram from you. I risked the world by creating Tartarus eruption and stealing your magic so you would be forced to work with me and give me the incantation. My actions were unacceptable and I owe one big apology for everything that I caused”, she apologized.

Hamish looked skeptic of her apology and the sincerity of it. In his mind, she only helped because of Jack but he’s not sure whether she would actually do it on her own if Jack had not convinced her to do so. He can still recall when Alyssa attacked them in Vera’s office. She had knocked him out. When he woke up and did not see Vera right away, he thought she had killed her already. It turned out, that theft she committed has more devastating consequences than Vera just losing her magic.

“I am glad to see you alive, Ms. Drake. Believe me, I am. When you were attacked, I wanted to…I wanted to help but I couldn’t. I have always believed in your potential and I always despised your need for approval because in reality, you don’t need it. You are a very well accomplished practitioner and if you can only stop the self-doubt, you will achieve great things. I am glad that you learned from your mistake although I wished it didn’t have to be from dying but it happened. I am grateful that you returned my magic and you are taking responsibility for your actions”,

“I sense a but coming”, Jack muttered.

“…but, I need to know of your plans in the future, Ms. Drake. You betrayed the Order once and joined Praxis which almost cost everything. I had requested Jack to convince you to come back to talk and you declined. You chose a different path. You died fighting for Praxis. I need to know where you work for now, Ms. Drake”, Vera said.

Hamish now can see why it is so important that Alyssa stresses her apology to her…they are both scared what’s going to happen now to her that she’s back from the dead. Alyssa betrayed the Order by joining Praxis, by attacking Vera, a Grand Magus no less, by causing the Tartarus eruptions. In the law of the Order, everything she did is not punishable by simple Pulveris Memoria. It is punishable by death.

“I made that decision out of impulsiveness and irrational thinking. I let my emotion cloud my mind. If you will give me another chance, Grand Magus, I would like to prove myself and my loyalty to the Order once again”, she replied.

Vera only hummed and walked towards her. She then put her hand on top of Alyssa’s head. It lasted for almost a minute before Alyssa yelped and backed away. She landed on the floor sobbing.

“What did you do?” Jack asked as he went to her.

“I showed Ms. Drake what is at stake if she ever betrays me again. I showed her what it’s like to be in hell”, Vera answered coldly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> vera is back everyone! She's awake and she got her magic back but she's not totally out of the woods yet. There is so much to battle with like the side effects of her stay in the Demon Realm and with Victor. Also, Victor has been searching for his queen for eons. He's not just going to give her up just like that, right?


	9. Too Honest

TEMPLE

Despite Hamish’s objection, Vera went back to work. There is a lot of work to do since she’s been gone for weeks. Although Gabrielle did a good job covering for her while glamoured with her appearance, she did poorly when it comes to being a Chancellor and she is left with backlogs of documents on her desk. It took her half the day to finish everything before she moved on to her temple duties.

A smile crept up on her face when she was able to close the door with one sway of her hand. It was quickly followed by fear. Victor is right about her. She does not crave power but she likes it. She likes it so much. She spent most of her life living with magic that she has grown to be dependent of it. Victor’s words echoed in her brain about how much she likes the darkness and how her self-control is not about morality. It’s about stopping her dark side from coming out. Shame washed over her as she remembered how she let her control slipped and allowed the darkness to take over. She wanted to physically vomit at the memory of having sex with Victor and anger filled her when she was not strong enough to push him away when she couldn’t do it anymore.

“Vera”, his voice snapped her out of her trance.

Hamish had brought the entire pack to the temple as per Vera’s request but when they got in her office, she’s staring blankly onto her desk. Her knuckles are white from gripping her armrest so tight. He can tell that she’s somewhere else mentally and he fears of where she went to. When he called her name, it’s like she’s been pulled out from a nightmare. He was right. Her mind was there…in hell.

“Sorry, did not hear you come in. Please close the door”, she muttered and cleared her throat.

“Hamish said you wanted to see all of us. You’re not planning on punishing us, are you?” Randall asked nervously.

The last time they saw her conscious, she was on full rage mode, ready to kill Jack and Lilith.

“No. I called all of you here to inform you that Kepler’s body was found and the investigation for her death has been closed by the Council. It was ruled as crime of murder by Praxis. All of you are cleared. Well done”, she answered.

They all breathed a sigh of relief. That’s one less problem for them.

“Grand Magus”, everyone went quiet, “I wanted to apologize for trying to kill you twice…thrice. I am not apologizing for my reason just that, I failed to exhaust other options first before jumping on the killing part”, Lilith apologized.

Jack already said his apology to her back at her house.

“Ms. Bathory, you’ve only tried to do what anyone else would do. You wanted to save the world and that I can understand. Consider yourself forgiven, Ms. Bathory”, she tapped her nails onto the desk, “Now, I wanted to put this phase behind us, and move forward. The Council informed me that Praxis is rebuilding. It is unclear whether they appointed new leader with the absence of Salvador Grant and Ms. Drake. Rest assured that once they got themselves in order, we will be their first target. I want to get ahead of that. Your assignment is to track them down. I want any available information you can gather about what’s going on with Praxis now. We need to be prepared just in case”, she instructed.

Everyone seems to be delighted to hear her authoritative and bossy voice again. Being possessed by evil and unconscious like sleeping beauty don’t really suit Vera Stone. She’s the Grand Magus and always will be in their eyes. She is meant to boss people around.

“Yes, Grand Magus”, they responded in unison.

Hamish, on the other hand, feels something else. It’s been two days since she woke up from weeks of sleeping. He knows she is trying to put her life back together and act like everything is normal but when she thinks no one is looking, her façade slips. He will catch her, just like earlier, staring into space, struggling to grip hard onto reality. They will sleep side by side and she will like snuggling with him the way they used to but will flinch at his touch in the middle of the night. Yesterday, their kiss got heated up while she’s dressing up and she pushed him away when his hold of her waist tightened. He respected that she was not ready. She told him she’s still tired from everything that has happened but he can tell it’s something else. He did not push. He never pushed. Her reaction alone tells him that whatever her reason was for pushing him like that, it’s massive.

“Are you ready to go?” he asked once the others left the temple.

She shot him a look and frowned.

“It’s still daylight, Hamish. We still got work to do”, she said.

“I don’t mean home. I mean out for lunch. I am taking you out for lunch”, he clarified.

Vera’s frown goes deeper. He never takes her out for lunch. They even went out for dinner twice. It’s just not their style. They like it better at home where they can have their privacy. The invitation makes it suspicious enough for her.

“It is not your birthday and it is not mine. Mind telling what this is about?” she asked.

He sighed.

“In the last two days, you barely eaten anything. I know you told me that your stomach is not used to it yet but I see you devouring alcohol like it’s nothing. Just let me take you to lunch, please”, he answered.

It is not that she’s torturing herself by not eating. She’s just not up for it. The alcohol helps her brain to become dull and hazed. The worried expression on his face told her that if she declines, it’s going to bother him a lot.

“Alright, we can go to lunch but we have to get back right away. I still have a lot of work to do”, she agreed.

\-----------------------------------

RESTAURANT

She loves Italian. Hamish knows that much. Now, he’s watching her play with the pasta using her fork. She had taken three forkfuls of it before he saw her ‘done’ expression. He’s just thankful that she found the dessert appetizing and she finished that one clean. When it comes to the wine, Vera did not hold back. Considering the time, it surprises him how carefree she is about day drinking. She did say they needed to get back because she got a lot of work to do. Now, she’s chugging wine like it’s water.

“Slow down. You said you’ll be working later”, he reminded her.

Vera eyed him before shaking her head.

“This bottle is good. We can stay here a bit longer. So, any plans after you finished your masters?” she asked.

Caught off-guard by her small talks, he leaned back and decided to engage. It is the first time they’re going to talk about light stuff since she woke up and he does not want to ruin it with his worries.

“Well, my life is here in Norwich. The pack is here. The Order is here. I couldn’t just leave that. Most importantly, you’re here. I definitely does not want to leave you…” she blushed a little, “…so I am thinking that after I got my masters, I am going to apply for full-time position at the university”, he answered.

“You’re lucky in that case. I heard the Chancellor has a thing for werewolves”, she teased.

Hamish felt his blood went down his groin.

“Oh, is that right?” she nodded with a raised eyebrow, “What else did you hear?” he urges.

He saw her wet her lips with her tongue and he grew hard at the sight.

“I also heard that this restaurant has a very nice restroom the Chancellor likes to check out. Would you like to accompany her?” she followed up.

Hamish looked around in panic. She’s not serios, isn’t she? It’s the middle of the day and the restaurant is filled with people. Plus, Vera Stone is not the type to hook up inside restaurants’ restrooms…right?

“I think I’ll be up for that”, he almost choked on that response.

"Wait here for five minutes. Then you can follow”, she said before leaving him at the table completely baffled.

What just happened? They’re just having lunch and she asked about his future plans and now she wants to have sex at the restroom? His mind couldn’t keep up. He wants to talk to her about her feelings of coming back, her frequent nightmares. He wants to ask how she really is but things turned on a different direction faster than he was able to anticipate.

When five minutes passed, he put bills onto the table before following her to the restroom. Vera was already waiting for her when he got in. She used her magic to close and lock the door and she’s all over him in a flash.

“Whoa…slow down, Vera”, he muttered in between kisses.

She’s hungry for him. He can tell. Her hands are roaming around his body and it did not take long before he caught up with her level of intensity. He groaned when she cupped and rubbed him. He pressed her against the wall and lifted her dress to make way for his hand. She is already soaked which he hummed in approval.

“Fuck me, Hamish. I want you to fuck me hard right now”, she whispered.

He plunged in two and then three fingers into her and she moaned out loud. He worried for a moment that they will be heard outside. He curled his mighty fingers up and started pumping her. The entire restroom is starting to smell like her arousal and it’s intoxicating for him. He wanted to be gentle, to make love to her but it’s too much. He always wants her in every way and when Vera demanded to be fucked the way she just asked, it makes his head spin. He found the soft spot on her neck and she cursed under her breath. His thumb circled her clit which drove her crazy.

“Hamish!” is the last thing she said before she was hit with a strong wave of orgasm.

He did not wait for her to come down from her high. He undid his pants and thrusted into her with force, her eyes rolled back in pleasure.

“Fuck, Vera…fuck…” he mumbled as he moves inside her.

It is all Vera wanted. She wanted Hamish. She wanted the real him, but she needed more. It’s not enough. There’s something missing.

“Bite me”,

He looked at her with a frown.

“What?” he asked.

“Bite me. I want you to bite me and I want it to hurt and bleed”, she answered.

He is confused by her request but he saw her pupils dilated with lust. He knows she is dead serious about it. She clamped her legs around his waist and buried him deep into her. The sensation made him groan before his eyes went silver and he bit her right shoulder. He tasted iron in his mouth and it opened him up to a whole new level of pleasure.

Her eyes watered as she gasped when his fangs broke her skin. She had closed her eyes upon seeing his silver ones because she feared they will turned black in a second. The pain of his bite had helped to ground her to what’s happening. She’s with the real Hamish and nothing else. Since she woke up, all she wanted is to be touched by him but each time he did, all she could think about is Victor. She hates that their intimacy was ruined so she decides to take control of it. Fucking in the restroom of a restaurant is not a good idea but it’s hers.

“I love you, Vera”, he said to her ear and she opened her eyes once more.

His eyes did not turn black. They’re still the same blue ones she adores. They watched each other as second wave of orgasm hits her before it pulled him over the edge too.

“You did not turn into him. You did not turn into him”, she whispered as they both came down from the high of their orgasms.

Hamish stiffens.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

She pulled him closer and buried her face into his chest.

“I tried to fuck Victor before I asked him to look like you. Then, I was there making love with you before his eyes turned black and ruined it. I…” she wanted to tell him that she tried to stop it. She didn’t want to go through with it but he did not let her. “I’m sorry”, she finished instead.

She can feel him tensing in her embrace. She wanted to slap herself for ever telling him about it but she couldn’t keep it in anymore. It is eating her alive. She consented it with Victor. She did at first before the darkness faded in her and wanted it to stop. Despite Victor forcing her afterwards, she still consented at the beginning and that’s the part where she’s most ashamed for.

“You fucked the Father of Evil…” he repeated and his voice had turned cold she felt the urge to pull away.

She met his eyes and she couldn’t read him anymore.

“Hamish…” what’s the explanation to that really? Is there anything she can say to make him feel better?

“I already paid the lunch. You can fix your hair while I wait by the car. The temple awaits”, he said coldly before leaving her alone.

Vera stood there shaking. She just ruined everything with her fucking honesty and now, she is officially alone.


	10. Vera's Downward Spiral

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: alcohol abuse and self-destructive behavior...

Vera spent the rest of that day and three more days after that devouring alcohol whether she’s at home or at the temple. Her tolerance for it is growing and she keeps needing more to dull everything out. Hamish had stopped talking to her after the lunch and her revelation in the restroom. He had ignored all of her messages. He had not showed up at the temple or in his class at school. He is purposely avoiding her everywhere. The longing she felt for him was soon replaced with anger and frustration to numbness. If he does not want to see her and talk to her, then fine. She does not need him, she thought. She’s the Chancellor of Belgrave University and the Grand Magus of the Hermetic Order of the Blue Rose for crying out loud! She does not need a werewolf to feel loved or needed or cared for _(even when in reality, she very much needs him)._

She had concentrated with magic. She cannot deny how much she missed having it. She had practiced spells from different spell books in her reliquary until she got bored and moved to much dangerous ones. Murder spells are not her specialty but she’s growing to love it. Her recklessness for it urged her to forego cutting her palm to perform the spells and she did it as it is. Who cares? She does not need sacrifice anyway. She had performed Fors Factoram for fuck’s sake! She’s basically the most powerful practitioner in the world right now. It’s true that using magic this way will kill her faster but what the hell. Everyone is going to die anyway. Who cares if she does? Her alcohol-filled brain had stripped her off her usual inhibitions and self-preservation.

On the seventh day of Hamish-imposed cold zone, she had forbidden the disciples to go to the temple for the entire day. She went into drinking spree at the bar, burned her lungs with cigarettes, and burned her own health with dark spells without sacrifices. For the first time in her entire life, Vera feels free of everything. She feels free of obligation, responsibility, the strict need to follow the rules of society, what’s right and wrong. There is just her and magic and whatever the hell she wants to do with it. She’s free.

\------------------------------------

VERA’S HOUSE

Vera lost track of the date. Her house is a mess. There were broken bottles everywhere. Nevertheless, she had walked over the shards of glass without feeling the broken pieces cutting through the soles of her feet.

“Should I go now?” asked by the stranger she had picked up the night before from…somewhere.

She couldn’t recall his name but she remembered he’s excellent in bed. It’s too bad to let him go so soon. Vera locked the doors and approached him.

“You can go after you fuck me over the kitchen counter”, she answered.

The stranger stared at her bleeding feet.

“You’re hurt”, he noted.

“Hmmm…no, I am not. I don’t think I can be hurt anymore than I already have been”, she wrapped her arms around his neck and attacked his lips. “So, are you going to fuck me now or do I need to find someone else to do it?” she asked and the stranger lifted her up and put her down the counter.

She lost the care if her house is made of glass. It is her house. She can do whatever the hell she wants in it. Right in the middle of it, she heard something that got her attention.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake…” she cursed and pushed the stranger away from her.

Gabrielle was standing not far from the kitchen, embarrassed to have seen what she just saw.

“What—”

“memoria vim extermina”, the stranger’s face went blank before Vera uttered another spell and the stranger was gone in a flash. “What do you want, Ms. Dupres?” she asked in irritation.

Gabrielle was so shocked by how Vera used that spell. She knows that spell. She had seen it in one of her books in the reliquary. That spell is not just a temporary memory tampering spell. It’s a complete deletion of memory spell. Vera just erased that man’s entire memory of everything just like that.

“Sorry to interrupt, Grand Magus. We were just starting to get worried about you. You have not showed up at the temple in three days now so I decided to check on you if everything’s alright”, she answered.

Her eyes wandered all over the house. It looks like it was ransacked or something. She’s been to her house before and she knows Vera Stone is very particular about her house.

“I am doing just fine. Thank you. Now, if you can leave me be”, Vera snapped.

“We found group of Praxis members. They were hiding at a farmhouse outside the highway. How would you like us to proceed, Grand Magus?” Gabrielle mentioned.

That got her attention fast.

“Nothing. Good work but stand down for now”, she responded and waved her to leave.

\----------------------------------

PRAXIS’ HIDEOUT

Gabrielle information proven to be useful and there are indeed people who are practicing magic unsupervised in that place. Vera knows it is stupid to just attack it on her own especially since she’s clearly drunk but she’s bored and she needs to do magic. This could be a good test of her practice lessons to herself, right? It’s now or never.

Vera marched towards the compound and started firing spells left and right. Everything is on mute to her ears. She felt a sting on her left arm and anger rose in her. Did he just cut her with a knife?

By the time she left the compound, everyone is lying lifelessly on the ground. It is safe to say that she just aced her test on the mastery of murder spells.

\-----------------------------------

Vera went back to work after that. She became bolder in her choice of clothes and she turned heads wherever she goes. Students on campus drooled whenever she walks by. For the day, she chose a form-hugging bright red dress. Its hem reached her knees but the slit goes all the way up to her thigh. The neckline of the dress is also a bit low and she carried it with such confidence that draws the attention of literally everyone.

She thinks she might have seen Hamish once at school but she ignored him. He has been doing the same for days now, so can she.

At the temple, she went adventurous with the spells she is teaching her disciples and it excites everyone. She also made a show entertaining attention from senior disciples at the temple. One time, she heard a low growl coming from somewhere but she’s too engulfed by the young boy trying to impress her with his story of football. She does not like football, not by any chance, but it’s amusing to watch the boy talk.

“That’s quite a story”, she flirted.

“I swear to you, it’s true”, the boy responded.

“Grand Magus”, she corrected.

“Grand Magus”, the boy obliged.

Vera hummed in approval.

“Well, office hours are over. This talk has been nice”,

“Oh”, she noticed the boy’s face fell.

“Do you have any other plans though?” she asked.

The boy’s face lifted upon the suggestion and he nodded. Vera did not say a word, just gestured for him to follow her.

\-----------------------------------

VERA’S HOUSE

She cleaned up the house with magic as soon as she stepped inside the house. The boy was simply in awe to be inside the Grand Magus’ house. It’s adorable to watch him take it all in but Vera is impatient. She stepped closer to the disciple and that’s all the boy needed for permission. The two made out with each other as he backed her against the wall of her living room. She must say, the boy can kiss. He also knows where to touch her to make her whimper. She’s probably ruining her reputation right now but she does not care. Lust is winning in her at the moment

Before things can get really heated up, she heard a growl first before the boy got tore away from her. When she opened her eyes, she saw Hamish had powdered the boy and sent him away with no memories of flirting and making out with her. Irritation flared up in her.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” she exclaimed.

As soon as she saw his silver eyes, her irritation dissipates. The alcohol in her system seemed to have disappeared and she just had to close her eyes.

“You ask me what I was doing? Vera, what are you doing? Do you even know what you’re doing? I have watched you these past few days and you’re making a spectacle out of yourself! Now, you take disciples into your home to fuck. Is that how it works now, Grand Magus?” he exclaimed.

She forced herself to look at him and his eyes remained silver.

“What I do is none of your fucking business, Mr. Duke. If you don’t like what you see, I suggest you look elsewhere”, she muttered coldly.

It seems to have angered him more.

“This is not you, Vera! Why are you trying to destroy everything you built and worked so hard for?” he continued and she couldn’t take it anymore to look at his eyes.

Her hands started shaking and her breathing turns rapid.

“Can you please turn your eyes back to normal?” she requested in a shaky voice.

She felt his hands over hers and he traced circles at the back of them. He cradled her head on his chest and his warmth gave her comfort she never thought she needed for the past few days before she felt her stomach turning. She pushed Hamish away and ran to the bathroom.

Hamish had held her hair as she emptied her stomach into the toilet bowl. Her entire body shook as she heaved. She felt his hand gently rubbed her back. He had helped her get back on her feet so she can wash her mouth at the sink. She did her best in regulating her breathing but it’s proven to be a difficult task. She glanced at Hamish through the mirror and saw his eyes are back to blue. It helps. She kept staring at them until her panic subsides.

“Sorry about that”, she whispered.

She heard him sigh behind her.

“Vera, I need you to talk to me, really talk to me. Tell me what’s going on. Giving me pieces of what you want to say is not helping either of us. I want to understand. Talk to me”, he said.

“The year I was inducted into the Order, I was drugged by fraternity boys when I attended one of the school parties. Edward Coventry rescued me before they could do anything with me but I was so angry about what they did, what they attempted to do, and I lost it. I set their van on fire with magic while they’re all in it. I watched them scream for help. I watched them burn and I made Edward swore not to tell a single soul about that night”,

“You’re young. Everyone acts impulsively especially in that situation. I would have killed them myself if I was there”, he muttered.

“Victor brought it up. He pointed out how much I enjoyed burning those boys, how I have this dark side in me even then. I couldn’t explain what came over me. I just thought I would be stuck down there for eternity, what else am I going to lose if I gave up? It was the stupidest thing I ever did. Even in that moment, all I could think about was you and I wanted to see you so I asked him to be you. He obliged and for a moment, I imagined it was real, that you were there with me but then, his eyes turned silver before turning to black and I freaked out. I tried to push him away but he’s much stronger than me. I couldn’t move. He liked seeing fear in me. When I knew I couldn’t get out of it, I just closed my eyes and waited for it to be over”,

Her grip onto the sink tightened as she relived it all in her head, every single moment.

“…but it was never over after that. Victor never took off your face. It was like seeing you but your eyes were different. He liked torturing me wearing your face. I lost count how many times…how many times I had to close my eyes when he’s all over me. He would made me see things like I was back here or at the temple and we’re together again before he took it all away and he would laugh. There were times that I still feel like all of these will be taken away from me and I will find myself still in hell. You ground me and then you left so I moved to the next best thing. I drink and drink until I can forget”,

Her actions the last few days came back to her and she curled further in herself.

“Victor was right about me. He was right about how much I like power. He was right about the darkness in me. I killed those people in the farmhouse. Ms. Dupres told me where they were and I went there and killed them”, she glanced towards him through the mirror once again and she frowned, “you knew?”

He stepped towards her and wrapped his arms around her.

“He was wrong about you. You’re not like him. You’re not close to anything evil. People make mistakes. It’s what makes us humans but what separates us from evil is that we recognize our mistakes and we learn from it. You learned self-control after that night with the van. Your control slipped up again with Praxis. Go take your control back. Don’t let that bastard control your life because he does not own you. He can never have the real you”, he put his hand over her chest to feel her heart, “He can never have you because of this”, he said.


	11. Hamish's Discovery

AFTER LUNCH

Hamish felt like he’s been hit by a bus after Vera’s confession at the restroom. She just admitted into having sex with the Father of Evil no less. He knows he shouldn’t react the way he’s doing but he can’t help the feeling of betrayal filling him up. He acknowledges the fact that she has been through a lot and she’s been literally dragged to hell. There are things going on in her head he couldn’t understand, he wants to understand, but she just dropped him that bomb and leave it like that. He saw it in her eyes. There’s more she wants to say but she chose not to.

After he had dropped her off at the temple, he decided to take a drive away. He needs time to process everything. It hurts to hear that she had entertained someone else other than him. It hurts to think of her with another man (or evil). It hurts that she thought that everything was over for her that she decided to fuck the personification of evil instead.

\-----------------------------------

DEN

He’s tempted to open his fine bottle at his bar and drink the pain away but he cannot go down that road again. The last time he allowed alcohol to cloud his brain, he almost died. The others seem to have picked up that something’s up because he’s back at the house. Since Vera was put to sleep, he never left her side. No one dared to ask question though which he appreciates. Instead of sulking around, he occupied himself with working on the assignment Vera gave them which is to find anything about Praxis. It is a good distraction. He can be both productive and take some time to breathe away from Vera.

“I swear I heard ringing when we went past that warehouse”, Randall said.

“Maybe you’re just hungry and you heard your stomach rambling”, Jack teased and Randall threw him a pillow.

A smile crept on Hamish’s lips. Watching the others banter somehow eases the turmoil he’s feeling. Vera had been messaging him, asking him to talk but he couldn’t bring himself to do that yet. He had avoided her at campus and at the temple. He does not want to say something during a heated moment that he will regret later. Vera is already fragile as it is after coming back from her sleep. He does not want to snap at her and hurt her with words.

Alyssa suddenly came in the house with takeout.

“Oh, you are a lifesaver!” Randall exclaimed and took the bags from her.

“What are you doing here? You said you have temple duty today”, Jack asked his girlfriend.

There is a frown on her forehead.

“Yeah but Grand Magus banned everyone from going into temple today”, she answered.

That got everyone’s attention.

“Did she say why?” Gabrielle asked.

“No. She just said no one is to come to the temple today. That’s it. No one asked why”, her gaze landed on Hamish, “She’s a little off the last few days. She’s been drinking a lot and I swear I saw her reading a dark magic spell book once”, she answered.

Hamish went quiet.

“Maybe she’s just preparing for Praxis. She told us that the Council predicted that they would come after the Order first once they appointed new leader, right? It’s her job to get ready for that”, Lilith guessed which they all settled for.

\----------------------------------

Few more days passed, Hamish started having classes again at the university. It is odd not to see Vera walking around. Some teachers said she was absent couple of days ago which is strange for Vera Stone. The Chancellor barely miss work. Vera is particular about attendance and her work responsibilities. She once explained it to him as an act of showing everyone that just because she’s a woman, it’s not a hindrance to her job at managing an entire university. A lot of people had doubted her and continues to doubt her. She’s young and a woman. Most at the board think she couldn’t handle the pressure of the job. That’s why she strives to prove them wrong by giving it her all.

“Something is new today. Grand Magus is teaching big spells at the disciples earlier”, Alyssa said over dinner table.

“Really? What kind of spells?” Randall asked.

“Transmutation, offensive spells…spells that can cause a damage”, she answered.

“See? She’s preparing for Praxis. She’s prepping the kids. It’s good so they can defend themselves too”, Lilith supplied.

Hamish wanted to settle for Lilith’s theory but some part of him thinks otherwise. Vera had stopped sending him messages. He can feel something is up. It is only when Gabrielle returned from Vera’s house that he confirmed he’s gut feeling.

“What happened? Is she sick or something?” Jack asked Gabrielle who looked shellshock.

“No. I don’t know. She, uh…” she is struggling to form her words, “She’s very drunk. I think that’s why she’s been absent at the temple…and…”

“Jeez, Gabrielle just spit it out”, Lilith demanded.

“She’s with some guy I’ve never seen before. They were, uh”, her eyes glanced over at Hamish before looking away, “…doing it at the counter. Then, she pushed him away when I caught them and she erased his memories before she sent him somewhere magically”, Gabrielle answered.

Hamish’s fists clenched.

“Pulveris memoria has it uses”, Randall muttered.

“No. It was not that. Grand Magus used a different spell on him. She did not modify his memories. She _erased_ his memories”, Gabrielle corrected which left everyone in shock.

“Everything?” Jack asked.

“All of it”, she answered.

“What then?” Hamish asked for the first time.

“The house looked trashed. Broken glass everywhere. Her feet were bleeding because she’s walking around barefooted. I told her about the farmhouse we found and she said to stand down and she asked me to leave”, she answered.

Now everyone is looking at him. The question about what happened between them has been hanging around them for days now. Randall has been dying to know but the others are stopping him from asking. Still, no one asked but they waited, in case Hamish will volunteer the answer but he did not.

\-----------------------------------

Hamish had kept an eye on Vera when she returned to work the next day. His jaw almost hit the floor when she walked along the hallway in that red dress. She always looks good, desirable, hot even in her pajamas but that dress just screamed it to the entire world how hot she is. Everyone who prefers a woman drooled all over the floor. She looked so carefree, uninhibited, bold. Using his wolf sense, he can detect the scent of whisky mixed in her perfume. He just knew she’s been drinking even at work.

At the temple, her behavior went more questionable. She did not bother being discrete. She flirted with any guys who showed interest and there are a lot. She does not seem to care whether her actions are already stirring up rumors among the disciples and he had to powder a few of them who thought about reporting her conduct to the Council.

\---------------------------------

PRAXIS’ HIDEOUT

The Knights suggested that they should act on the farmhouse they discovered since Vera is not doing anything about it. Hamish had to agree. If Praxis attacked them again, Vera will be on the hot seat by the Council due to negligence. They need to do something to cover for her and to handle the threat.

“What in the world?” Randall muttered as soon as the smell hits them.

They can smell it from a mile. Blood and rotting flesh…it is strong. Alyssa almost screamed when the sight of bodies greeted them. Everyone they saw are dead, long dead. They can feel that it was done by magic.

“Do they have enemies we don’t know about?” Lilith asked.

“One of them murdered the Prometheans. They could have retaliated and did this as payback”, Jack answered.

Another scent caught Hamish’s attention. It was not the blood of those dead at the farmhouse. It was a familiar scent of iron that he could still taste in his mouth. He bent his knees and studied the grass and saw a few drops of dried blood which confirmed his suspicions.

“It was her, wasn’t it?” Alyssa asked him.

The girl has been studying him carefully.

“She’s been here. It’s her blood on the grass”, he answered.

“What was she doing here?” Randall asked.

“I don’t know”, he answered.

Alyssa is shaking her head in disbelief.

“You’re the reason she’s acting this way”, he turned to her, “I thought it was odd that Vera Stone will do the things she did but I get it now”,

“Don’t. You don’t know anything”, Hamish warned.

“Unfortunately, I do. She forced it into my head. She showed me everything that has happened to her in hell so I can already guess what set you off but before you go ice cold on her and continue ignoring her while she is spiraling down, you might want to hear the entire story. She thought she’s going to be down there forever. On top of that, she got a freaking essence of darkness inside her which responded to the Father of Evil’s temptation. I think between us you’re the one who does not know anything”, she snapped.

\----------------------------------

TEMPLE

He plans on confronting Vera about what happened at the farmhouse. After that, he hopes that she will decide to talk about what Alyssa was talking about. Of course, he can sense that there’s more about what she went through in hell just based on her reactions but he wants it to come from her. He does not like pushing her to tell him things. He wants her to be comfortable enough to tell him everything.

What he found at the temple infuriates him. Vera is sitting at the bar with another disciple. He believed his name is Tom, a transfer student from Florida who has been eyeing Vera since he was inducted into the Order. The way she stares at the boy, he knew instantly what’s going on in her mind. Tom was telling her things about football which he knows she hates. Vera is not fond of sports and watching games bores her. Why is she listening to anything he’s saying? The answer is she’s not listening. She’s just watching him talk. When he saw her wet her red lips, he couldn’t help himself and a growl escaped from him. That move of hers never fails to drive him crazy and to see it directed towards someone else makes him want to wolf out and rip that boy’s heart. His anger toppled even more when she invited the boy to come with her so he decides to follow them.

\------------------------------------

VERA’S HOUSE

Seeing how that boy touches her body just made him snap. He tore him away from her and quickly powdered him so he wouldn’t try with her again. His anger was quickly replaced with worry when she had asked him to change his eye color to normal. She started shaking and by the looks of it, she’s having a panic attack.

“It’s okay. It’s okay. I’m sorry I raised my voice”, he kept saying as he held her but it was heard by deaf ears.

She suddenly pushed him and hurried to the bathroom. He helped her through it before she calmed down by staring at his eyes. He couldn’t help it anymore and he just needs to know so he asked her and this time, she told him everything.

As she narrates everything, he did his best to contain Tundra inside him. He’s preventing his eyes from turning silver because he does not want to risk her having panic attack again but deep inside, he’s seething. Vera is having a hard time phrasing the specifics but he got it. The monster had raped her. It does not matter if she consented at first, she wanted it to stop and he did not let her. He did it again and again and she had to go through that without any signs of hope that help will come her way. Hamish held her in his arms and hoped that somehow, he will be enough to anchor her whenever she feels like drifting away, to be her touchstone, her everything.


	12. Take A Break

VERA’S HOUSE

Her panic attack drained her of her energy. Hamish had to carry her to her bed because her legs decided to stop working for a while. The exhaustion of the last few days caught up with her as well as the things she did which caused to drown in shame and embarrassment. She could remember those nameless guys she brought home and that last one…did she just erase his entire memory permanently? She cringed at her own actions.

“Stop it”, she heard Hamish muttered as he helped her change her clothes.

He can see her beating herself up for the last few days. She hit rock bottom and did things that her normal self will definitely not approve but after everything she went through, she deserves a pass and deep understanding for all of it.

“I erased that man’s memories. All of it. That cannot be undone”, she mentioned.

“I heard. Gabrielle recognized the spell you used”, he confirmed.

If she could curl further into herself, she would. It’s bad enough that she did that to an innocent and unsuspecting stranger. One of her disciples had to see her do it as well?

“What have I been doing?” she whispered.

It was not meant to be said out loud but she did. She had dealt with problems before. She went through the death of her daughter, being exiled and disowned by her parents. This is not how she deal with aftermaths and yet she allowed herself to lose her control and became an alcoholic in a matter of days and use magic carelessly which ended up with her erasing a man’s memories in a permanent manner and murdering a group of people. With that in mind, she stared at Hamish who’s carefully buttoning her pajama top.

“They were going to attack the temple”, he did not look at her and continue to button her top, “We saw the boards inside the farmhouse. They’re planning on how to get inside the temple. They’re going to attack us and steal the Fors Factoram. That’s why they’ve been practicing magic in that farmhouse. If you had not done what you did, they would kill us first”, he added.

It’s like he can read what she’s thinking or maybe she started being open at him that he can sense what she wants to say now. The guilt in her eyes helps to know what she’s thinking.

“I remember telling to Ms. Dupres to stand down”, she recalled.

“Yeah…we thought that you’ve been preoccupied lately and we don’t want the Council to put heat on you when Praxis decides to attack while you’re going through a phase so we came back to the farmhouse”, he explained.

“You want to cover for me”, she translated.

Their eyes met.

“You would have done the same for us, for me. That’s what you’ve been doing since you found about us wolves. Since we’re at the topic, I might have powdered a few disciples at the temple who saw you flirting with the others. Some thought about reporting your conduct to the Council. Don’t worry about them. They don’t remember a thing now”,

She buried her face into her hands in embarrassment. Yes, she can remember openly flirting with everyone who crosses her path at the temple no less! Hamish removed her hands from her face and held them in place.

“It’s going to be alright. You’re not perfect, Vera. None of us are. You’re allowed to make mistakes. It’s going to be alright. I took care of it. Not a word has reached the Council. You can come back at the temple and no one will remember a thing”, he said.

She bit her lower lip and remembered the way he reacted at the restroom that day.

“I thought you’re angry with me. You stopped talking to me and you did not respond to my messages so I thought…I thought we’re done…that you’re done with me. I thought I’m all alone”, she confessed.

He felt Tundra growled inside him. He’s angry not at Vera but at him for making her think that.

“I needed some time to think. Apparently, I took so long. I should have been more proactive. You wanted to tell me more. I could see that but I did not want to push you so I kept my distance thinking you needed space and time to be ready. I was wrong. I shouldn’t have left things like that. I’m sorry for making you think that I left. You know I can never be angry with you even if I try. I love you so much for that”, he replied.

Her hands trailed on his face before resting over his eyes. He can see the fear in hers like she’s just waiting for his eyes to turn black. He can feel the anger inside him towards Victor who scarred the woman that he loves by using his face to put nightmares in her brain. It’s not just a torture for her. It’s also a torture for him. Even Tundra is aching that his presence inside him can send Vera into panic.

“I don’t know what I would do if this turn out to be an illusion, Hamish. I wanted to commit to this reality, to now, but I am so scared that this will be taken away from me too. That will hurt too much and I don’t know if I can take that”, she said.

He took one of her hands and pressed a gentle kiss on it. He then started planting kisses on parts of her and he kept it gentle, channeling his love for her with every kiss. He does not know anything else to tell her, to press to her that this is real, that this is not one of Victor’s mind games to torment her. He’s there with her and he’s not going to let her go. He kept kissing her until he reached her neck. He heard her moan when his lips landed on that spot on her neck. He kept caressing that spot with his lips then his tongue and he felt her hands on his neck and head urging him to keep on going. He then moved to her ear.

“This is real, Vera. Everything you’re feeling right now is real. My kisses are real. My touch is real. My love for you is real. Don’t think. Just feel”, he whispered.

Vera allowed the tears to fell down her cheeks before she closed her eyes and let Hamish to make her feel everything. Her mind registers every touch, every kiss, every breath he makes on her skin. Soon, her arousal grows and she can feel herself wet on her underwear. She knows he can smell it too. He confirmed it when he tightened his grip on her waist and started moving south.

“Hamish…” escaped her lips when he made love with her center.

Yes, it is different than how it was with Victor. Even though Hamish’s desire and lust are there, she can still feel his love and his need to make sure she’s happy and taken care of. Victor takes her pleasure for his own glory. All of his actions are meant for one thing: to own her. Hamish does not make her feel like that and yet she wants to be owned by him and no one else. She had been with other guys and no one ever makes her feel the way Hamish does. No one satisfies her the way he does. No one sends her to the moon and back the way Hamish does. Yes, she belongs to him just like he belongs to her without the other putting a claim.

“I’m close…” she whispered.

Hamish kept on going but she pulled him up, leaving a frown on his face.

“I want us to come together…please”, she said.

He nodded at her request and slowly entered her which left her breathless. Emotions are dancing inside her. This is how it should feel. This is making love. This is Hamish.

“Fuck, Vera…” he cursed as her muscles are gripping him inside.

He saw tears in her eyes and for a moment, he thought it’s something he did. He thought he did something wrong that triggered her but when she smiled, he realized it’s a different kind of tears. He put a kiss on her forehead before burying himself in her as deep as he could and both of them moaned at the sensation. He’s not going to last any longer. He placed a thumb over her clit and she cried his name before he followed her over the edge.

“I want you to remember how that felt. This is us, Vera. No one else. Only us. I cannot express how much I love you but I hope you can feel it”, he said as they both come down from the high.

“I feel it, Hamish. I do. I love you too”, she replied.

\---------------------------------

TEMPLE

Hamish was right when he said he had powdered the disciples at the temple because no one remembered of her past behavior, only the Knights and Alyssa. Even Tom couldn’t recall their private talk which she’s grateful for. She almost ruined her reputation, her credibility and risked the agreement between the Knights and the Order be void because of her slip up. She quickly dove into work to catch up with the things she missed while she’s going through a phase.

Not far away, Hamish kept a close eye on Vera as she starts to get back to work. He’s still worried about her. It helps that she finally allowed him, fully allowed him in her life but the effect of what she had endured is still there. He is scared that if he gets distracted, she will slip again. They had an agreement that she will stay away from liquor for now to give her body time to adjust and get back to normal. She also agreed to eating more and taking care of herself but he takes it upon himself to make sure of that. She has a habit of skipping meals when she gets busy with work.

“She seems okay now”, Jack noted while they’re cleaning the ritual room.

“She’s been better”, Hamish responded.

“Something wrong?” Jack asked.

Hamish took a deep breath and recalled.

\----------------------------------

TWO NIGHTS AGO

He’s been deep asleep when he heard the crash of something breaking. Tundra yanked him out of sleep and saw that Vera is no longer beside him.

“Vera?” he called but no one answered.

He had checked the closet and the bathroom but she’s not there. His feet took him downstairs where he saw the broken vase on the floor. He started smelling the scent of iron that he knows belongs to Vera’s blood. Then, he had found her near the guestroom walking towards a large mirror.

Hamish almost froze when he saw it… _him_. Vera’s reflection is not herself. It’s a man with pitch black eyes staring at Vera who’s walking with her eyes closed. She’s sleepwalking, he figures, and she’s walking… _straight to him!_

“Vera!” he yelled.

The man onto the mirror snarled at him and tried to make a leap and reach for Vera, but Hamish is faster. He was able to grab Vera before the man was able to grab her.

Vera gasped when they fell onto the floor. Panic sets in when she saw that she’s no longer in her bedroom.

“Hey, it’s okay. You’re okay”, he quickly said which stopped her panic before it goes full blown.

“How did I get here?” she asked.

“You sleepwalked, I think. You bumped into one of your vases which woke me”,

“Sorry”,

“Don’t be. You almost collided with that mirror if I hadn’t pulled you back. I am not sure how much that one cost”, he tried to make the mood lighter while brushing up the fact that he just saw her being lured into coming with that man in the mirror.

He does not know how she will react if he tells her that Victor is trying to get her back in her sleep. She’s still recovering from the last time she was dragged down there. He wants to give her time to breathe while he figures out how to stop that evil from wanting to get her.

“You’re right. Thank you. That mirror cost quite a fortune and that vase, sadly”, she swayed her hand and it was already fixed, “…but I can just do that”, she replied with a smile.

Yes, she deserves more time to be like this, to smile like this. He needs to tell her but not tonight. She needs a break.

\----------------------------------

PRESENT DAY

“Well?” Jack asked as he waited for an answer.

Hamish took a deep breath and turned to his friend.

“I need your help to do some research”, he answered.

Jack frowned but nodded anyway.

“What about?” he asked.

“How to cut the link between this world and the Demon Realm”, Hamish answered.


	13. Cutting the Rope

In the following days, Vera seemed to be more at ease and comfortable. Everything falls right back into place with work at school, with the Order, and with Hamish. They have not talked about him moving in at her house but she does not mind. He already got his own space at her closet, his toothbrush in her bathroom, his side of the bed. It used to scare her before, being in a relationship again, but after what she went through in hell, she wants to make the most out of it, to live life to the fullest. She does not have forever to enjoy it. There had been effects on her health after she went on magic spree during her _phase_. Of course, it was bound to have consequences. She always monitors her health and her doctor had noted about her sudden drop in her blood pressure. She blamed it on stress and it’s the lie she told her doctor who luckily bought it but she knew better. It’s the cancer.

There’s no news about Praxis and their current activities. She’s been keeping a close eye on Alyssa too, slightly fearing that she will switch sides again but after what she showed her, the girl has learned her lesson. The Order is the only thing standing in evil’s way from unleashing hell on earth. If she’s on the wrong side, it would be unfortunate for her. To test her, she purposely put her in charge on the assignment concerning Praxis. She had already assigned the Knights to do it but it’s better to have more soldiers on the field when you’re in a war. The Council had delegated Adeptis to search for them in a worldwide basis, determined to find them after Kepler’s death. Norwich is her domain at the moment and it’s the place where Praxis wants to have control over so she must put her best people on the field and that includes Alyssa Drake.

When they’re not on the hunt mode, Hamish spoils her with homecooked meals and massages at home. She once called him out for it but he simply reasons how much he misses her. How else can she protest that? The thing is, as good as Hamish is with reading her, she’s also that good in reading him and soon his moves on spoiling her became a tell-tale sign for her that he’s doing that on purpose not only because he wants to make her happy but also as a precaution of something else.

“Hamish, what’s wrong?” she asked while he’s giving her a foot massage.

She wouldn’t deny how much she wants that massage after a long day of wearing her killer heels but the look on his face that she now notices tells her something is up and she cannot wait any longer to ask him about it.

“I don’t want to lie so I am going to ask if it is possible for us to talk about it tomorrow morning. It’s just that, you had a long day and I don’t want to ruin your night. You’re supposed to be relaxing right now”, he answered.

Okay, something is really up.

“No. I can take it. Tell me”, she insisted.

He took a deep breath and rubbed her leg.

“Do you remember when you’re sleepwalking?” she nodded, “It happened…well, it’s happening almost every night, Vera. Most of the time, I stayed up longer to catch you before you can leave the room and I wouldn’t wake you but you do it every night and each time you got out of the room, you always went in one destination in the house…that mirror downstairs near the guestroom”, he revealed.

She can only remember sleepwalking thrice. The first one was when she broke a vase. The second one was she almost sprained her ankle at the stairs, and the third one, she woke up in Hamish’s arms as he carried her back to their room.

“Is that why you never go to spend the night at the Den with the others?” she asked in realization.

“I couldn’t let you be alone”, he confirmed.

“Hamish, you should have told me. It’s a simple sleepwalking. I could cast a spell on myself that will stop me from doing so”, she muttered as she cupped his face.

Still, worry did not fade from his eyes.

“I don’t think it’s biological or neurological, Vera. There’s something else at work here and I have to be here to keep you safe”, he said.

“Okay, Hamish. You’re starting to freak me out. What are you not telling me?” she asked with a more serious tone.

“I saw _him_ , Vera”, he does not need to say his name. She already knows, “I saw him at the mirror the first time you sleepwalked. He was right there, urging you to come to him and when I called for you, he got so angry and tried to grab you but I got to you first. I don’t know how he’s doing it but when you’re asleep, you always go there and I know I must stop you each time or I will lose you again”, he answered.

Vera tried her best to remain calm. Victor still has some control over her even with her magic back. She tried to command herself to start thinking of an explanation but panic is starting to rise in her. Her brain couldn’t begin to function, to come up with a solution. She closed her eyes in an attempt to control her panic. Then, she felt Hamish’s fingers tracing circles on her thigh, a soothing gesture and she felt herself calming down. His touch is grounding her and she focuses on the soothing movements.

“It’s the essence of darkness. My magic is able to tamper it but when I’m sleeping, my guard is down. My magic is dormant which allowed the essence of darkness to be active even just for a little bit. I could look into enchantments that will stir up my magic even when I am sleeping just to keep the lid on. We’ll see if that works or not and then we can start to panic”, she started thinking out loud.

Hamish couldn’t help but smile at her resilience. He had never seen a stronger woman than her. He’s just completely in awe.

“Alright, we do that. Also, I have asked Jack to do some research for me”, he mentioned.

“What kind of research?” she asked.

“…on how to cut the link between this world and in hell…I know it could be a long shot but I figure if that link is cut off, even if you have the essence of darkness in you, Victor wouldn’t be able to tap into that”, he answered.

It is not such a bad idea but it is definitely a long shot. They’re not really going to sever two realms because you just can’t. They could just cut the communication link, that little window those in hell uses to take a peek at the land of the living.

“We can all work on that. That’s a good one. Tell, Mr. Morton to come to my office tomorrow so we can further discuss this matter”, she approved.

Hamish began massaging her foot again.

“Tomorrow. Right now, you sleep, and I promise to make sure you will wake up in this bed when the sun rises up”, he responded then placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

\-----------------------------------

TEMPLE

Jack came with loads of books he found from the collection of Salvador Grant and some of the recovered ones from Vera’s reliquary. Vera raised an eyebrow at Alyssa who granted Jack an access to her reliquary again but said nothing else.

“I didn’t think it will be this easy. We just need to gather these ingredients and say these words and it’s done. Cutting the link of communication is easy because we’re not going to mess up the balance of nature. We’re correcting it”, Jack started.

“What do you mean?” Nicole asked who’s been assisting him with his research.

“There’s not supposed to be a window between two realms. Demon Realm broke that by forcing its way into our world in the hopes of conquering it, to get out of hell. When the demons that escaped were forced back to hell, a small crack was left open between two realms and it served as their window, a one-way window. They can see us but we can’t see them. Ever since, the world has been imbalanced. Their influence over humans doubled. By cutting that, we’re going to set it back to the way it was. We’re not destroying or disrupting anything”, Jack answered.

“Good. Well, feel free to dive into our stocks of ingredients. Those were not in there, Ms. Drake, you know where to get them”, Vera ordered and the rest had left her office.

When they’re gone, Vera started chanting spells as Hamish watched a few steps back. She started glowing before it was gone.

“What was that?” he asked.

“It’s the enchantment I was telling you about last night. It will keep my magic circulating inside me even as I sleep. I wanted to test it if it’s going to be enough to tamper the essence while I am unconscious, and how it would feel to have my magic constantly working 24/7. It’s going to be exhausting but if Mr. Morton will be successful, then I will not have to keep this enchantment up for so long”, she answered.

“It will be successful. Randall, Lilith, and Gabrielle will be here later to help. It’s going to work”, he replied.

\-----------------------------------

RITUAL ROOM

Everyone gathered inside the room as Jack and Alyssa prepared the altar table. Although she does not want to admit it, Vera is a little nervous about the incantation. If it does not work, she’s going to have to keep the enchantment on herself forever and it will only speed up her cancer. It will shorten her time on earth, her time with Hamish. She cannot decide which fate is worse: to die early or to live forever as a Mother of Evil. The latter will ensure her life forever but not for the rest of the world. At the back of her mind, she contemplates that it could work for her and Hamish. Hides are immortal and if Hamish will be careful, he could live for years too with his healing abilities. If she to become the Mother of Evil, she can protect him and the others so they can be together, but she will be damning the rest along with the world.

Vera shook her head as she shook the thought from her head. What is she thinking? She’s actually considering that option. Her heartbeat quickens. Is that her own thought or someone else’s? Is it Victor playing with her again? She felt Hamish’s hand over hers.

He could hear her heart pounding in her chest. He does not know what’s going on in her head but something must have crossed her mind that made her nervous or scared. Her heart slowed down as soon as their hands connect. She gave him a small smile before facing forward.

“Alright, we’ll start the incantation”, Jack announced.

Everyone circled around the altar.

“obsecro ut interficias fune connectit duos mundos. Et separavi ea manere”, Alyssa began.

It took seconds for Vera to feel the sting inside her chest. As Alyssa and Jack joined to recite the spell, the pain grew in her. She squeezed Hamish’s hand tighter as she tries to control the pain in her. Hamish shot her a look of concern as he notices the furrow on her face. She’s doing her best to concentrate but he can feel that she’s in pain.

When Jack raises the rope which symbolizes the link between earth and the Demon Realm, Vera gasped when the knife connected with it. She did not ask them to stop. Before Jack can cut the rope, Lilith growled which disrupted the ceremony.

All of them turned to her and her demon mark on her face is burning red. She’s seething before her eyes landed on Vera.

“You think you can escape me forever?!” Vera’s blood ran cold. She can recognize that voice that came out of Lilith’s mouth. “I own you! You are mine and you belong down here with me!” Lilith shouted and advances towards her.

Hamish’s instinct kicked in as he growled towards Lilith and blocked Lilith’s way towards Vera. The pain in her chest became unbearable. Something in her is responding to both the incantation and to Lilith.

“What’s going on?” Gabrielle asked.

“It’s the two of them. They’re connected to the Demon Realm. Vera still got the essence of darkness in her and Lilith’ bearing the mark on her face. They’re being affected by the incantation”, Alyssa answered.

She turned to them and locked gazes with Jack.

“Finish it!” she commanded and Jack resumed chanting and cutting the rope.

Vera almost cried while Hamish and Lilith fought off each other. She saw Lilith hit the wall while Randall and Gabrielle tried to pin her down. Hamish immediately ran to Vera’s side as she kneels on the ground but there’s one more thing he forgot to do before approaching her…his eyes.

Upon seeing them, Vera screamed.


	14. Her Magic Reserve

Hamish forced Tundra back in to normalize his eyes before approaching Vera again. Her scream felt like a thousand knives stabbed in his chest. She’s petrified…of him. He wants to choke the life out of Victor for doing this to her, for ruining him in her eyes, for planting horrible memories in her brain whenever she sees his silver eyes. She crawled against the wall, away from everyone, away from him. He moved slowly, carefully. He first took her shaking hands and gently traced circles at the back of them.

“Vera, it’s me. Open your eyes”, he said.

She shook her head, keeping her eyes extremely shut. Her brain is being bombarded with Hamish laughing at her as she was just pulled away from another illusion. His face hovering above her as he forced his way in her wouldn’t go away.

“Make it stop…make it stop…make it stop…” she prayed continuously.

He does not know what else to do. Tears kept falling from her eyes and he couldn’t make them stop. He couldn’t stop what’s going on in her brain. In desperation, he took her hand and put it on his chest. Vera halted and opened her eyes upon feeling that hard pounding on his chest. She can feel his heart beating. When she looked at him, his eyes are back to normal. Fear and worry filled his eyes as he held back his own tears. Those images in her brain, those memories, it was not Hamish. It was not her Hamish. It was Victor who tainted her view of him for his own amusement.

“You’re fine, Vera. You’re alright. I’m right here, always”, he whispered as he wiped the tears from her face.

“We have to cut the link now. I can hold on. Finish the incantation”, she said to him.

Hamish is worried about it. The incantation is hurting her and Lilith. Lilith is literally possessed right now by Victor somehow and they don’t know what’s going to happen to the both of them when the rope is cut. He looked at Jack who is waiting for his signal. He, too, looks scared and worried for both Lilith and Vera. Hamish nodded at him and he and Alyssa resumed chanting. Vera groaned again once she felt the magic of the incantation. She is now sure that it’s the essence of darkness in her that’s causing her pain. It is protesting, fighting to be cast out. The incantation is pulling it out of her as well as the demon bearing on Lilith so it can completely sever the communication link between the earth and the Demon Realm.

“I’m okay”, she whispered to Hamish.

The pain in her chest is pressing out of her body. Lilith is groaning across the room from her as the demon mark on her face is burning. Suddenly, the Victor in her started laughing.

“I’m not going to let her go, Hamish Duke. If I cannot have her as my queen, then no one else could”, Victor’s voice came out of Lilith.

Hamish froze. He understood every word of it and the hidden meaning behind it. The essence in her will kill her once Jack cut the rope and the link is severed. Victor will kill her so no one else can have her.

“Stop!” he yelled at Jack who immediately halted chanting.

Vera gasped when the pain stopped in her chest and she glared towards Hamish.

“What are you doing? We cannot stop”, she exclaimed.

“I cannot lose you again…not again. We can find another way”, he said.

“Hamish, there is no other way. This has to be done”, she replied.

“Vera, he will kill you if we cut the link. That essence inside you is going to kill you”, he explained, trying desperately to make her understand.

Vera knew she has to tell him now the truth about her health because she might survive today by not doing the ritual, but her enchantment on herself will surely kill her in a matter of weeks or months. Death is her sure ending. That’s why she’s betting so much on Jack’s incantation because her fighting chance is greater with it than her enchantment.

“I am dying, Hamish”, he almost stopped breathing, “You once guessed that I performed Fors Factoram and you would be right. I did and that cancer is eating me. I have prolonged my life by using magic accordingly and with sacrifices. Putting that enchantment to myself to stir up my magic even when I sleep is going to speed up that cancer. I will still die, Hamish. That’s why I want to take the risk with this incantation. We have to try”, she revealed.

He does not know what to say or how to react or what to do. All that registered in him is that, she’s dying. It’s just a matter of choosing which path will give her the most time on earth before that inevitable end. The determination in her eyes to continue is telling him that she thinks this is that path. Everyone is waiting for him. Reluctantly, he signaled for Jack to continue.

Vera groaned once again as Lilith fought of Randall and Gabrielle to break free. The essence of darkness inside her is fighting to cling to her system but she’s not going to let it make a home inside of her. She’s much stronger than it, much stronger than the previous Grand Maguses. She’s so much more. Victor wouldn’t choose her if he does not know that either. Fear is Victor’s greatest weapon and he had used that on her to paralyze her, to subdue her, to make her submissive towards him. She sees it now. She sees things clearly and she’s done cowering, being scared of the darkness, of the memories imprinted in her brain. It’s time to use her full potential the way it’s meant to be use in the first place, that power Victor was so scared of.

She had pushed Hamish aside as she removed Randall and Gabrielle off of Lilith. The possessed wolf instantly charged towards her with her silver eyes and burning demon mark on her face. Vera had forced herself to get up and with her hand raised in midair, Lilith became frozen on the spot. She growled and growled but there’s no way for her to break free from Vera’s magic. As Jack and Alyssa continued to do proceed with the ritual, Vera digs deep down for her magic reserved and slowly helped the incantation to pull the demon traces in Lilith as well as the essence of darkness in her own body. Lilith cried in agony as she suppressed her own pain.

Once she managed to pull it out of Lilith, she dropped her to the ground and used her magic to hold the demon trace they had put in her in place. It took the form of Victor and tried to break free from her magic but she kept it focused on him.

“You are not powerful enough to defeat me! I am the Father of Evil! I am the King of Demons and all the damned in all the realms! You are just a witch!” Victor exclaimed.

“…but I am not trying to defeat you, Victor. I am only putting back the lock in your cage so you can rot down there for eternity”, she responded.

Vera then started digging deep as she put one hand over her chest. The pain was instantaneous. It’s more painful than labor and she had experienced how it was. She can feel it in every bone in her body and it took all of her not to fall on her knees. Slowly, the essence of darkness became visible to everyone as she helped the incantation pull it out from her. Victor was stunned at what he’s seeing.

“That’s impossible”, he muttered.

Despite the tremendous pain she’s under, she still managed to keep Victor at bay but she knows she will not last long. Jack must cut that rope as soon as the essence is out of her before she passed out.

“Mr. Morton, make sure the timing is perfect”, she coached with a grunt as she fought both the essence and Victor.

“You’re not powerful enough to do this!” Victor yelled as he pushed back.

Hamish saw a smirk formed upon Vera’s lips.

“You just hoped that I am not, but you know deep down that I am”, she looked back at the dark shadow shaping the image of Victor in front of her. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t choose me to be your queen. You picked me to be the Mother of Evil. Now, let me show you what I can do…dear”, her voice is cold and chilly that sent shivers down everyone’s spines.

She then took a deep breath and successfully pulled out the essence out of her body and held it in midair.

“Ego mater malum. Iram meam et sint vobis in finem”, she started chanting in Latin as her words collided with Jack’s and Alyssa’s all the while, Victor fought hard to break free from her magic, “Ego mater malum! Genua ante me”, she added and the loud shriek of the essence of darkness filled the entire room before it was dissolved into thin air.

Vera’s eyes are now glowing in red rings as Hamish and Tundra can feel the immense amount of magic radiating from her.

_I have prolonged my life by using magic accordingly and with sacrifices. Putting that enchantment to myself to stir up my magic even when I sleep is going to speed up that cancer. I will still die, Hamish…_

Her voice rang loud and clear in his head. She’s using the Fors Factoram now and she’s losing control of it. If she does not stop now, it will kill her.

“Cut it now, Jack!” he yelled and Jack uttered the last word of the spell before cutting off the rope.

The effect is instant.

The dark shadow representing Victor had dissipated. Lilith’s demon mark was now gone from her face and Vera…

“Vera!” Hamish gasped when he saw her lying on the floor.

He grabbed her wrist and found her pulse which made him relaxed a little but the blood that had come out of her nose almost made his heart stopped.

“Restituatur, saneture, reparetur…” he started healing her with the spells she had taught him before.

It was essential that he learned it back then when she lost her magic so he could cover up for her. Never in a million years he imagined using it on her. Few more minutes into his healing incantation, Vera gasped for air. Her hands automatically clutched his arms in a death grip as she refocuses her brain to her surroundings. She’s still in the temple. She’s still with Hamish. He can see those thoughts in her eyes. She feared for a moment that she will wake up somewhere else again.

“You’re okay. You’re still here with us. You’re safe”, he muttered and she ultimately relaxed.

He helped her get up and does not let go of her arm. She’s still lightheaded and her balance is off.

“Everyone alright?” Vera asked.

“Yeah…that was scary but we’re okay”, Randall answered.

“Sorry for trying to kill you again, Grand Magus”, Lilith apologized.

It put a smile on her face to see the demon mark on her face is gone.

“It was not you. There’s no need for that”, she replied.

Jack and Alyssa both sat on the floor as they allowed themselves to relax. They were both on edge as the pressure to finish that long ass ritual. It’s like they skipped breathing throughout of it just so they can speak the incantation without messing it up as the others fought with the Father of Evil.

“Don’t mind us. We’re good. Just need to rest for a while”, Jack muttered with a wave.

That made the others laughed. Lilith healed the scratches she caused on Gabrielle and Randall’s arms while they struggled. Nicole began cleaning up the room with magic to spare the rest from doing it.

“Are you alright?” Hamish asked her low enough for the others not to hear.

Her balance is still off and if he’s not holding her arm, she would have already fallen on the floor.

“Yeah…I’m just exhausted. That’s all. It’s been quite a while since I used that much magic”, she answered.

“Come on, I’ll take you to your office so you can rest”, he said and told the others to rest too.

As they walked back to her office, he felt something strange radiated from Vera as he wrapped his arm around her.

“Hamish…I need you to listen carefully. Inside my drawer, there’s a sheet of incantation. I need you to cut an inverted star on my palm and cast that spell…as soon as possible…”

Before he could ask what that spell was for, she had already passed out.


	15. Best Breakfast Yet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> decided to keep it light and throw in fluff...our vermish deserves it.

Hamish rummaged in her desk drawer and took out an old sheet of paper containing an incantation he has no idea what for. Even though he can read it or rather Tundra can read it, he does not know what the spell is for. He then went to Vera who’s lying on the couch unconscious. He took her palm and cut an inverted star on it before reading the incantation. It took thirty seconds before the cut on her skin healed and the colors on her cheek returned. She then opened her eyes and glanced over a very worried Hamish before landing on the sheet of paper he’s holding.

“Thank you”, she muttered as she pushed herself up and took the paper from him.

“Okay, what just happened?” he asked.

Vera stared at the piece of paper that contains one of the oldest incantation in the world as the memory of it came back to her. She is sworn to secrecy but her relationship with Hamish transpires secrets. They tried to keep things from each other before and those secrets almost destroyed them both in more ways than one. She’s not going to do it anymore.

“It was years ago. I was just promoted to Magistratus here at Belgrave when chaos erupted in Moscow. I was one of the disciples who were deployed there to help the chapter. It was a civil war between Moscow and Berlin chapters and it was getting messy. It was bloodshed on both sides. The practitioners from Berlin chapter that gone rogue decided to target us too. While I was trying to escape the slaughtered, I found myself at the vault of Moscow temple. That’s where I found the Fors Factoram Incantation. At the time, I was not trying to be heroic. It was purely survival. We’re dying. The rouge practitioners were using necromancy and I did not want to die in Moscow”,

Her fingers traced the paper she’s holding.

“I performed the spell in desperation and it was something I have not experienced before. The surge of magic coursing through me. I could just think of it and it would happen. I ended up not stopping the rogue practitioners but murdering them all. I lost control, just like how I almost lost control earlier”,

Hamish can recall the way her magic felt earlier when she’s fighting Victor. It was intense. She’s not doing spells but the ringing in his ears were present.

“Alec Gamontov, the Temple Magus of the Moscow chapter, realized what I’ve done and mistook it as an act of heroism. In return for saving their chapter from Berlin rogue practitioners, he gave me the incantation for safekeeping and a portion of the Vade Maecum. This page is a part of that portion. He gave it to me to slow down the progression of the cancer caused by Fors Factoram”,

“You gave that portion to Edward Coventry”, he recalled.

Vera shrugged.

“Well, not one of my proudest moment. As soon as everyone thinks the Vade Maecum’s gone, I took this page from the grimoire and hid it”, she responded.

“Is that why you told us the book was gone? You needed the spell?” he asked.

“No. It’s more than that. The Vade Maecum Infernal is simply indestructible. No potions can destroy it. I did that so no one else would look for it and it worked for a while until Ms. Drake’s magic went haywire and she started searching”, she took a deep breath and the page she’s holding lit up, “This is not a cure but it helps to keep me alive all these years. There had been a number of times when I needed to use more magic than usual so…now, you know everything about me. I’ve never revealed myself like that to anyone”, she answered.

The paper in her hand disappeared and returned inside her drawer where it belongs. She suddenly feels bare in front of Hamish. He now knows all of her secrets.

“Thank you for telling me. You did not have to but I am glad that you did. Thank you and I will protect your secret with my life”, he said.

She smiled.

“I know you will. I trust you”, she muttered.

“Shall we go home?” he asked and she nodded.

\-----------------------------------

VERA’S HOUSE

It was not lost on Hamish the fact that Vera’s health is on the decline because of Fors Factoram. The spell from the Vade Maecum helps to slow it down but it’s not a cure. He wanted to ask if she knows a way to cure herself but he knows that if there’s one, she would have done it already. In her desperation to survive, she had sentenced herself to death in another way. He put that on top of his list, to find a way to cure her. It may sound impossible for other people but he believes there is a way to help her.

“I can hear you thinking”, she muttered.

They’re lying side by side on the bed. Vera had already drifted earlier due to exhaustion but something woke her up and felt Hamish still awake.

“Sorry to wake you. Go back to sleep. It’s still dark”, he said.

She turned to him and put her arm around his body.

“I will if you’ll go to sleep too. Aren’t you tired? It’s been quite a day”, she asked.

“I am scared”, he simply said.

Those were just three words but Vera deciphered the meaning behind them. He’s still thinking about her cancer. It’s what scares him. She closed her eyes upon that realization, suddenly regretting telling him about it.

“It’s not going to happen right away, Hamish. Stop stressing about it. I’m fine right now”, she said.

As much as he wants to forget about it, he cannot. It’s not any ordinary cancer that can be treated with medications and surgeries at the hospital. It is caused by magic and he hopes that magic can also cure it somehow.

“I just couldn’t imagine a life without you in it. I experienced it and I felt like dying inside. I don’t think I want to see that day happens”, he confessed.

Her mind tells her she should have told him sooner so he would be prepared. It is cruel to let a man dream of a future she may not be able to provide. Her own future is undetermined. She may make it or not. She can do her best to be careful with magic and follow through with every sacrifice required in a spell but the cancer will continue to progress inside her. Her days will still be numbered and it is not yet certain if there’s no threat that will arise in the future that will demand her to use her magic.

“I am sorry, Hamish”, is all she can say.

She does not know how to put his mind at ease. There is nothing she can say because there is no cure to what she has. It is what it is.

Hamish held her tighter in his arms, afraid that she will be taken away from him if he let go.

“Don’t apologize. It’s not your fault. Let’s go back to sleep. I promise to make you breakfast tomorrow”, he said and she nuzzled deep on his chest.

\------------------------------------

Vera woke up at the smell of pancakes and eggs coming from the kitchen. She’s still alive, she thought to herself. She’s alive and she’s not in hell. More than that, she no longer has the essence of darkness in her body. She quickly fixed herself in the bathroom and put on Hamish’s shirt before going down the kitchen.

A cup of black coffee is already at the counter waiting for her as Hamish knew she does not take anything in her stomach without coffee.

“Smells good”, she muttered with a smile.

She heard him groaned so she turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow. He is eyeing his shirt on her and she noticed how his eyes are scanning if she’s wearing anything underneath which she’s not. She smirked and continued to sip on her coffee.

Hamish wanted to do something nice for Vera so he wants to start with Vera. He had not expected to see her wearing only his shirt that’s too big for her. Her legs are bare and exposed for his eyes and her makeup free face just stirred something in him and he could not help the groan that came out of his lips. Sometimes, she’s just too oblivious on her effect on him.

“If you don’t flip that, it will burn”, her voice snapped him out of his thoughts and saw the pancake he’s cooking that’s close to being crisped.

“Shit”, he cursed and quickly flipped it in the pan.

He heard her chuckled behind him. When he turned to look at her, she got that mischievous look on her face. _Oh, she’s aware of her effects on him._

“Are you okay, Hamish?” she asked coyly.

He decided to turn off the stove and walked towards her and took the cup of coffee from her hands and set it from them. She raised an eyebrow on him but he did not say anything. He picked her up and set her on the counter which made her yelped and then giggled.

“You are a tease, you know that?” he muttered with a slight growl.

A smile played upon her lips.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Mr. Duke”, she teased even more which made him groaned louder.

His hands gripped her waist and pulled her body to press on his bulge and she whimpered at the contact. She bit lower lip and he saw how her pupils dilated in lust.

“You are driving me crazy”, he muttered.

“Show me your eyes”, he froze and frowned at her, “I want to see it, please”, she requested.

He debated whether to oblige or not but he can never refuse her, ever. Tundra hesitates because the last time she saw his silver eyes, she screamed and crawled away from him. He took a deep breath and allowed his eyes to glow in silver rings and he felt her heart beats a little faster but she quickly got control over it and she relaxed again.

“How do you feel?” he asked in concern.

“They’re beautiful. I always love your eyes”, she answered.

He felt Tundra jumped in joy and relief inside him. He does not know how it happened but she had overcome her trauma when it comes to his eyes and he’s glad.

“You’re over it”, he muttered.

“I took the control back, just like what you said. I am done letting Victor control my life. I want to be myself again”, she explained.

Hamish pressed his lips on hers and then smiled.

“I love you, Vera, so much”, he declared.

“I love you too”, she replied and pulled him and allowed herself to surrender to his heat and passion.

Her hips rocked against his as she seeks that friction to satiate her own desire. He slowly laid her down the counter before lifting up his shirt on her body. A growl came out of his mouth upon discovering she doesn’t have anything underneath his shirt.

“Please…” he heard her say and he does not need to be told twice.

He went down on her and she moaned loudly. He’s always been so good with his mouth and fingers and they never failed to bring her into oblivion. He sucked, licked, and bit, taking all of her right on her kitchen counter.

She screamed, “Fuck, Hamish!”, when he thrusted three fingers into her. He’s buried deep before curling his fingers hitting that spot that makes her scream and writhe.

“Come. I want to see you come”, he demanded as he lifted his face so he can watch her undoing.

With a flick of his thumb over her clit, she gasped and let her head fall back as the wave of orgasm hit her hard. He helped her ride it out until her movements subsided.

“You’re so beautiful when you come”, he expressed.

“Don’t hold back. Bite me”, she demanded and it tore a growl from him before his fangs connected into her right shoulder and thrusted into her hard.

The mixture of pain and pleasure overwhelmed her as Hamish pumped into her fast and hard. It did not take long before the two of them reached their climaxes.

“Best breakfast yet”, she whispered as catches her breath which made Hamish chuckled.


	16. Blast From The Past

For the following days, all of them recharged from the whole Demon Realm phase of their lives. Lilith started feeling more of herself as she has been freed from her ties to the realm. She and Nicole are going strong while Gabrielle is now a full-blown Knight. They say that she learned way faster than Jack when he was first became a Knight which Gabrielle took great amount of pride while Randall and Jack are striving at school.

Vera is also starting to feel like herself more and more each day like nothing has happened to her. She’s back to her usual self before her magic disappeared and things went south for her. She knows Hamish worries for her health. She can feel his close eyes on her whenever he’s close. He’s cautious and there were times she almost loses her balance, and he took it to another level. She kept her patience long. She can understand his fears. If the situation is reversed, she would act the same. Hell, she would drag his ass to the hospital to get checked regularly. She’s just thankful that Hamish is not at that point yet.

“Grand Magus, do you have a moment?” Alyssa came in her office.

She nodded and waved to close the door behind the girl.

“Any news about Praxis?” she asked.

“That’s what I want to talk about. If we ever find them, what do you plan to do with them?” Alyssa asked her instead.

Vera looked up at the girl and she instantly translated the real question of Alyssa.

“You mean if I will kill all of them like the last time?” Alyssa swallowed and pursed her lips, “No, I will not do that. Although, I intend to use Pulveris Memoria on them to prevent any future damage and threat. I am going to ask your help to modify the powder to make it stronger, something that will last”, Vera answered.

Alyssa took a sigh of relief. She was actually nervous that Vera will kill them all like what she did at the farmhouse. Of course, she knows that Vera was not really herself at the time but Praxis had tried to kill her more than once. She couldn’t really blame her if she wants to kill all of them to preserve her own life.

“I’ve been in contact with Xavier”,

“Xavier, Promethean Xavier?” Vera cut in.

“Yes, Grand Magus. He is also tracking Praxis after what happened to his brothers and sisters. He does not intend to kill them but he couldn’t risk them running around while he rebuilds his organization. He’s scared it will happen again”, Alyssa shared.

“Well, it’s going to happen again once they got a new leader. I still got what they’re after and I doubt they will forget about it any time soon but Xavier can relax for now. He’s not the primary target”, Vera responded.

“I told him that and he offered his help by giving me what he found. There is a doctor that works at Backus Hospital. Xavier said the doctor has been giving invites to some of his patients to attend secret meetings which we can only guess as magic demonstrations for recruitment, like the ones Foley did”, Alyssa said.

Vera tapped her nails onto the desk. She needs to plan this correctly. If the goal is to get them all to forget, she needs to get them all in one place.

“What’s the name of this doctor?” she asked.

Alyssa can see Vera’s brain working through her eyes.

“Dr. Luis Cortez”,

Vera’s nails stopped hitting the desk.

“Grand Magus? Are you alright?” Alyssa asked when she noticed the halt in her movement.

Vera cleared her throat as she quickly recovers. She nodded towards Alyssa and opened the door behind her.

“Yes, Ms. Drake. Good work. Let me sit on it for a few hours and we’ll talk with the wolves about this. You’re dismissed”, she answered.

Reluctantly, Alyssa obliged and left the office. Vera quickly closed the door and leaned back on her chair with a distraught look on her face.

\----------------------------------

VERA’S HOUSE

Hamish got in the house and found Vera already by the sofa nursing a glass of red wine. He sets his briefcase on the floor and went beside her with a questioning look on his face. He eyed the glass on her hand and scanned her surrounding and found no bottle lying around so he guessed it’s only her first glass which he’s glad.

“You haven’t had a drink since I powdered little Tom out of this house. What’s going on?” he asked.

He kept his voice level so he wouldn’t give away his fear that Vera might go down that road again.

“Praxis might have appointed a new leader”, she answered.

Tundra was suddenly alarmed inside him at the mention of a new threat to her life. It also means that there is a possibility for Vera to use her magic to fight now that Praxis got a new leader that will definitely target her to get Fors Factoram from her. If she uses that kind of magic she used on Victor again, it will affect her health greatly and he’s not ready to lose her in a permanent manner.

“Do you know who it is yet? The pack and I can find whoever it is right now and just take care of it before they can make any moves on us”, he suggested.

He will do it and he’s sure that Jack, Randall, Gabrielle, and Lilith will be up for it. After everything Vera went through for them, they will do it for her.

“Ms. Drake gave me his name and I think I do know who he is”, she muttered…almost like a whisper.

He watched her took a sip from her glass. He just now noticed her eyes. Despite the makeup she put on, it’s evident that she had cried earlier before he arrived. Her gaze is inward, a little lost in memory of the past.

“Vera, who is this guy?” he asked.

Her eyes fixated on the red liquid on her glass as her head keep swimming on that time of her life she would rather forget. It is true when they say you cannot outrun your past. It will always find a way to catch up with you no matter what you do to escape it.

“His name is Luis Cortez. He’s a doctor now at Backus Hospital and he’s the man who knocked me up years ago and kicked me out when he found out about the pregnancy”, she answered with a sad tone in her voice.

They have discussed about her daughter once. It was not an ideal pillow talk but Hamish being the observant Hamish, noticed a tiny remnant of stretchmark on her body after they had sex and asked about it. She answered it simply as it was and did not provide more information about who the father was or what happened when she found out she’s pregnant. Hamish did not push either. It was brought up again when Victor offered her to be with her daughter again if she agrees to be the Mother of Evil but after that, Hamish just didn’t have the heart to ask more. He knows it’s a sore subject for her and when she’s ready, she will talk about it. He did not expect her to talk about it involving Praxis in the subject matter.

Vera wouldn’t look in his eyes. She couldn’t. What would he think? When she first answered his question about her stretchmark, she kept it tight and brief as a sign of dismissal. She shouldn’t care what he would think about her past but now that their relationship became a real one, a committed one, she cares what he thinks of her past. She worked her ass off to build the Vera Stone that she is right now, unreadable, indestructible, strong, tough. The past version of her is the opposite of those things. She was naïve, stupid and just plain foolish.

“Vera, look at me”, she heard him say.

She refused to look so he took her chin and lifted it so their eyes could meet.

“My proposal still stands about me and the pack taking care of this for you but if you want to proceed another way, I’m all ears. It’s your call”, he said gently.

She studied his blue eyes carefully and found no judgment or doubt in them. The man has seen and known all dirty secrets of her life including her pregnancy and he still looks at her with that same love he always got in his eyes for her.

“Honestly, I don’t know how to proceed. When Ms. Drake told me about a doctor recruiting patients, I thought about posing as a patient to get information but then she told me his name and there’s no way I could do it without him recognizing me. I’m sure he already knows I am the Grand Magus. We can’t just go kill him. We need all of them and this time, I want to do it without any bloodshed”,

“You want to powder all of them”, Hamish guessed.

“…a stronger version, but in order for me to do that, they have to be all in one place”, she confirmed.

He contemplates about it for a moment. It is not lost on him how this disrupts Vera’s strategy. That man got history with her and he knows that she worries that doctor will use it against her so she wanted to avoid him as much as possible. He could think two ways to get them all lined up in one place: a victorious celebration or a live public execution.

“They need a reason to celebrate”, she looked back at him with a frown, “…that’s the only way they will gather in one place. What’s one thing that is so important they will drop everything to get together for?” he asked.

“Are you suggesting we use Fors Factoram as bait?” Vera asked in disbelief.

“See, but it does not have to be the real one. Alyssa tricked us by faking the Vade Maecum Infernal. We wouldn’t have known it was fake if you had not asked us to rip it apart. We do the same with Fors Factoram and we get them all in one place like what you wanted”, he explained.

It is not a bad suggestion but there’s one problem to that…

“Who do you propose will bring it to them?” she asked again.

Hamish had already thought about it and he knows she’s not going to like it.

“Alyssa Drake”,

“Oh no…forget it”, she muttered.

“Listen, she’s on our side or she’s on Jack’s side. Jack is on our side and she will not betray him again, not after everything he did to bring her back to life. She’s the only one they’re going to trust to allow inside. She will have the perfect alibi of having the incantation in her possession. She can just say she went into hiding after closing the eruption because the entire Order is after her and she had to fake her death”, Hamish explained further.

Vera does not like it, not one bit of it. She can see his point but that would be risking Alyssa on the other side again. It almost cost her everything and the world when she betrayed the Order. Who knows what it will cost them this time if Alyssa did it again?

“I don’t like this, Hamish. Ms. Drake is an idealist at heart. What if she got persuaded once again to join them?” she doubted.

“Leave it to Jack. This is the only way you can have what you want, an end without any bloodshed. We both know the alternative and that’s what we’re trying to avoid here”, he replied.

It is going to be a war once Praxis was able to build the kind of reckless army they’re trying to form. On top of that impending war, is another threat of Tartarus eruption if they began with their unchecked magic again. Another option is popping inside her brain and it’s the one she was about to do before Alyssa came in her office and stole her magic. She put it as her last resort because the damage it will do on her health will be irreparable.

“Alright, let’s do it your way. You talk with Mr. Morton and Ms. Drake about your plan. If they agreed to it, we can talk and polish it off but it better work, Hamish. I would rather not do the other option”, she agreed.

He frowned at her.

“What other option?” he asked.

“…the option you and Mr. Morton opposed before I lost my magic”, she answered.

_Killing every last member of Praxis with one incantation…_

“It will not fail”, he replied. He cannot let her do that incantation. He cannot let her damage herself for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i always wondered about the guy who knocked Vera when she was sixteen...here it is...


	17. A Visit

DEN

Hamish had relayed the plan on the pack and Alyssa just like what Vera had said the next day. He also told them that Vera had a history with Dr. Cortez when she was younger which made it impossible for her to approach him and gather information herself. Surprisingly, they all looked calm about it even Jack.

“Okay, just so we’re clear. What happens if this plan fails? What if they discovered that we faked the Fors Factoram?” Lilith asked in curiosity.

“I think the answer is clear when it comes to me”, Alyssa muttered.

“I will not let anything happen to you”, Jack reassured her.

Randall made a face.

“That’s sweet but on a larger scale. What happens then?” he asked.

Hamish took a deep breath.

“Vera will do the incantation that will kill every single Praxis member”, Jack froze. He remembered that incantation before. He convinced Vera to have a parley with Salvador to prevent that from happening, “That’s the last resort. She does not want to risk them launching a war and causing another eruption in the midst of it. So, this plan better work because I would rather not have her perform that incantation”, he answered.

Back then, they will ask if Vera is capable of doing that but they know better now. They know the extent of her magic. All of them are aware that she performed Fors Factoram herself. It made Alyssa better understand why she was stopping her before from wanting to do it because she’s already living with the consequence of it and she does not want her to suffer the same fate.

“It’s not going to fail. I can fake the incantation and they wouldn’t know the difference until it’s over”, Alyssa said in full confidence.

They all believed that. She was able to fake the Vade Maecum and not even Vera was able to see the difference.

“Good, just…don’t betray us again. There’s so much at stake”, Hamish reminded her.

“I won’t. I promise”, she replied.

\-----------------------------------

BELGRAVE UNIVERSITY

Vera came back to work at the school and automatically dove in piles of paperwork and board meetings. It is the best way to distract her from the threat of Praxis and that _person_ who popped up from her past threatening her organization and literally the world. Overworking herself is her way of avoiding issues or her emotions and it had worked for years but this threat is not something she can just ignore or avoid. It’s not going to go away if she does. She just needs to trust Hamish and the pack as well as Alyssa that they can handle to carry out the plan before she’s forced to just kill them all.

“Wow, don’t you look lovely?” she stopped signing the budget proposal for next school year when she heard _his_ voice.

It’s like she’s been hit by a bus of memories when his voice registered in her brain. After all these years, she can still recall his tone, the way he utters words like it was yesterday. How can someone still have that effect? Her brain tells her not to look. _Don’t look!_ But, what would that say about her? He will definitely think she’s not over him or something, that he still got some control left over her. He’s wrong. She had accomplished so many things after he last saw her. She’s the Chancellor of Belgrave University and the Grand Magus of the Hermetic Order of the Blue Rose. She got no reason to feel ashamed right now.

“That line works for everyone who came across your path, Luis?” she replied with her usual business-like tone as she looked back at him.

His features stunned her. He does not change much since the last time she saw him. Of course, he looks handsome. He always does. It’s one of the things that got her attention when she was foolish enough to fall for a pretty face but age only added to his allure. His bad boy charm got stronger too and the way he’s smirking at her tells her he is very aware of that.

“It worked once on you”, he reminded her.

“Key word: _once_ ”,

“Right…you’ve changed. I can see that”, he strode inside her office and looked around like he owns the place or he belongs there, “You’ve done well, Vee. Head of a very respectable university and on top of it all…you’re the Grand Magus of a secret society. Who would have thought?” he expressed.

She cringed upon hearing her old nickname that he likes to use a lot. She did not need to wave her hand to close the door to her office, only her mind willing it to do so. She cannot risk anyone hearing Luis talking about her being Grand Magus and everything. A smile formed upon his lips when she blatantly showed him her magic.

“Why are you here?” she asked.

“Well, I could give you a list of answers for that question. For starters, I want to touch base with you. It’s been so long since we last saw each other—”

“—since you last told to my face that you don’t give a fuck about me and my daughter, yes, it’s been so long”, she cut him off with a glare. He cleared his throat.

“…second, I want us to come to terms about business. You see, it does not need to end in bloodbath, Vee. We can just make a deal and all will be happy. I am not Salvador Grant nor Alyssa Drake. I have no intention in killing you or anyone else. I am a doctor for crying out loud. When I first heard about magic, I was skeptical. Magic is for kids but then after I crashed my car onto a huge tree, there’s this guy who healed me out of nowhere. I realized the good it can do, you know. Imagine cancer patients who don’t need to suffer because magic can cure them, heal them. That’s all I want. That’s all we want”, he continued.

It all sounded too familiar for her ears. Salvador talked the same. Jack even heard it came out of Alyssa’s mouth. Praxis dreams of magical utopia without any regards to the cosmic balance of things. They don’t care if they will subject their followers to a definite death. All that matters to them is to have unlimited access to magic. That’s all. No matter how good their intentions are.

“You’re not going to cure people with Fors Factoram, Luis. You’re going to sentence your followers to death including yourself”, she muttered.

Why is she trying to save this guy? She can just let him do the incantation and it’s up to the cancer to claim his life. Rationality crept up in her brain and told her the right thing to do. They don’t understand magic as well as she does. They just think they do.

“Let us worry about that part. Magic is not perfect. It got loopholes and I am certain we can find the loophole to that problem”, he said.

He’s too confident, too cocky.

“I can’t give you what you want, Luis. You may be able to risk it but I am not”,

“Then, you will be risking an apocalypse?” he asked.

“Here I thought you’re a doctor who does not want to kill anyone and yet, you’re willing to sacrifice the world in order to get what you want”, she commented.

“…and here you are ready to risk the fate of the world so you can hoard all the magic to yourself, Grand Magus”, he countered.

Hold on a sec, when did he get so close to her? She did not even notice it. He’s now standing a few inches away from her. She can literally feel his breath on her face.

“Back up”, she whispered.

“Oh my Vee, you looked so flushed. I still can remember how I can make you scream my name over and over again. Do you remember?” he asked as he took a few strands of her hair in his fingers.

“Step back”, she repeated.

Of course, she can remember. She cared about him once but that memory is tainted with that awful night he told her he didn’t care whether she’s pregnant or not. It’s not important to him, that he wouldn’t allow her and the baby destroy his future.

“I bet I can still do the same”, she heard him say proudly as he pressed his body on hers.

She’s like a ticking time bomb. Her patience was previously running low but now, Luis managed to drain it completely. As the pounding in her head began to knock away all the sounds around her, she snapped like a rubber band.

“I SAID STEP BACK!” she exclaimed and a blast of magic came out of her, sending Luis backwards against the wall.

\------------------------------------

Hamish just finished his second class of the day when he heard the ringing. His initial hunch is that Praxis is nearby and using magic or at least one of their recruits but the ringing felt different. It felt familiar. It was only when Tundra nudged him in the direction where Vera’s office is that he realized why the ringing felt like that. It’s what her magic feels to him and not the good kind. It’s the kind of magic that can match a demon’s power which also can shorten her life.

He quickly moved his feet to get to her office when he felt the wave of immense magic. It knocked out the power in the entire campus which caused a loud gasp from the students and faculties before the generator went back up.

“Shit”, he cursed and started running.

By the time he opened the door to her office, he saw her standing on the left side of the room, her magic radiating off of her while glaring over the man on the floor.

The man laughed as he got back up on his feet.

“Well, that was unexpected and utterly surprising. I should have expected that from a Grand Magus”, he expressed.

He heard the low growl under her breath and he knows she’s going to exert more of her magic.

“Vera”, he called and it broke her focus which disrupted her magic.

She turned to him and her expression softens. He saw the anger in her dissipates and she got control back on herself. He glared at the man who had provoked her as he joined her side.

“I’m alright”, she whispered.

“My apologies, I am being rude for not introducing myself. The name is Luis Cortez but I am certain Vee already mentioned who I am”, he introduced himself to Hamish.

He felt Tundra wanting to come out and rip the man’s throat out but he reigned him in.

“She had. You’re the ball-less guy who was not man enough to take responsibility for his own kid”, Hamish spat.

Luis stared at him for a moment before darting his eyes on Vera.

“Really, Vee? I know you’re no prude but I did not think you’re into younger men nowadays”, it tore a growl from Hamish and Tundra.

His eyes flashed silver and one more insult, he wouldn’t be able to control his hide from killing Vera’s ex.

“Ah…and he’s also a werewolf, now I understand how you managed to forge that alliance”, Tundra snarled in Hamish, “Easy, brother. Like what I told to Vee, I have no intention in killing her or anyone. I came only here to say hello and offer my proposal. It is now up to her if she wants it or not. I’ll be on my way”,

Luis took a card from his pocket and put it on the table.

“Give me a ring when you made up your mind, Vee. I’ll be waiting”, he said before leaving her office.

Hamish waited until he can no longer hear Luis’ footsteps before he was able to calm down and his eyes returned to normal. He turned to Vera who is looking at him in both awe and shock.

“Are you alright? Did he hurt you?” he asked.

“I’m okay. You called him a ball-less guy”, she noted.

“I would have gone with dick-less too but I am quite busy reigning Tundra to spit that too”, he explained.

Vera buried her head on his chest as she pulls him in an embrace.

“Thank you”, she muttered.

“Anytime, love. Anytime…” he replied as he placed a kiss on the top of her head.


	18. Invitation

TEMPLE

They gathered at the temple as Alyssa and Vera perfected the fake Fors Factoram. They are the best practitioners the Order got and they needed both efforts to polish it. Praxis cannot know it’s not the real one in order to execute their plan perfectly. They cannot fail.

“What was it like?” Vera turned to the girl as she stares at the real Fors Factoram, “What was it like to have unlimited access to magic?” she asked.

Vera took a deep breath.

“To be honest, it’s quite freeing. It feels like there’s nothing you cannot do. You hold the power over anything. Anyone can easily fall for that feeling of liberation and that’s what makes this incantation the most dangerous and treacherous of them all. The more you use magic that way, the faster the cancer will spread in your body and eat you away. You will never know it happening because you will be so drunk in power and when you finally realize what it really does, it’s too late”,

Her fingers traced the paper.

“There is no such thing as free pass in magic. There is no way out from sacrifice. This spell creates the illusion that it’s possible but like any other spells out there, it has a price. It just happens to be the life of whoever will perform this”, she answered.

Alyssa looked at her.

“…but you’ve lived this long. I’ve seen you do spells before like I’ve never seen anyone does”, she recalled.

“I have lived this long thanks to incredible amount of control. Don’t get me wrong. I am no saint. There were times I am tempted to just use magic to the fullest but I have to remind myself what it cost so I did my best sticking to the right way to doing magic which is to offer sacrifices. It helps to prolong my life”, Vera explained.

“I never properly thanked you for stopping me in sentencing myself to death. I let my ambition got the best of me”, Alyssa muttered.

Vera found herself smiling at the girl. She once had high hopes for her. She actually thinks of her as the next Temple Magus for Belgrave before it all went down.

“You’re welcome and I am sorry for not being able to help you right away when your magic went haywire. The timing was not on our side”, she responded.

She saw Alyssa frowned for a brief second before her expression softened.

“I guess we’re even then”, she replied.

“I guess we are”, Vera took a deep breath and Alyssa took the fake Fors Factoram from the table, “Good luck and be careful, I still want you to return in one piece”, she said to Alyssa who gave her a smile in return.

\-----------------------------------

BACKUS HOSPITAL

Luis signed a few papers at the front desk before entering his office when he saw Alyssa sitting at his chair.

“Nice spot, like what you’ve done with the place”, she greeted.

“I was told you’re dead”, he muttered.

“Well, from the Order’s POV, I am. Don’t worry, I have no intention in stealing your thunder. You can keep being the leader. I just came here bearing gift. That’s all”, she removed her feet from his desk.

Alyssa got up and handed him an envelope.

“Congratulations, doctor. You now hold the incantation that will free everyone from sacrifices. You’re welcome”, she said.

Luis, in shock, opened the envelope and saw the Fors Factoram Incantation. He stared at it then turned towards Alyssa with a look of disbelief.

“How?” he asked.

“I spent enough time at the temple to know the ins and outs of the place. Plus, the Grand Magus trusted me. That’s before I was ‘killed’. They will freak out that it’s gone but they wouldn’t know the dead girl stole it”, she answered.

Luis smiled.

“Well, how can we ever repay your loyalty to Praxis? Come home to us. The Order will never find you”, he asked.

“That’s tempting but being dead gave me some sort of freedom and desire to see the world, you know? I will settle for an invite though once you throw a celebration for this victory. I would like to be there”, she answered.

“An invitation then…Saturday night at The Spa at Norwich Inn. We will celebrate this great moment of our organization”, he invited.

Alyssa smiled back.

“I will be there”, she accepted and left.

\-----------------------------------

TEMPLE

Alyssa returned at the temple where everyone is waiting by the bar. Hamish is behind the counter making drinks for everyone while Vera is on the phone with the Council. She put down her phone when she saw Alyssa approaching them.

“How did it go?” she asked right away.

Hamish detected an underlying tone in her voice. She sounded like a worried mother. He knows she was on the edge since Alyssa left to talk to Luis but he thought it’s just nerves about the plan. Now, he thinks it concerns more about Alyssa’s welfare. Even though Vera does not fully trust her yet, he can feel that she cares about the girl and it only proves how big her heart is because only her can still care about a person who betrayed her before or a pack who stole from her and messed up a lot of things for her.

“Saturday night at The Spa at Norwich Inn”, Alyssa replied.

Jack went to her and pulled her in his arms. Randall and Lilith made a noise about getting a room while Vera suppressed her smile but Hamish can see the worry in her eyes.

“What’s wrong?” he whispered in her ear. It’s low enough for others not to hear.

“I just don’t feel good about this”, she responded.

He ran his hands over her arms.

“Don’t worry, you’re not the only one nervous about this plan. All of us are on the edge right now but this is going to work. We’re close. We just need them in one place right? We can do this”, he said and pulled her into his arms.

He can tell how nervous she is because she does not usually allow him to hold her in public but she’s not protesting right now which means PDA is the last thing in her mind.

“You’re right”, she whispered.

\----------------------------------

VERA’S HOUSE

She considers Hamish’s point that it’s probably nerves but it’s been two days and she still couldn’t shake off the feeling that something is wrong with the plan. Her guts are on full alert. There are so many things that this plan can go wrong but there’s a tinge of hope in her for it to go right. She does not want to murder an entire organization if she can help it and it’s going to take a huge toll on her health. It will speed up the cancer and it will shorten her life. Isn’t like choosing which is the lesser evil? Hamish will surely love that kind of reasoning.

“Vera”,

She turned around and saw his frightened expression. He frowned at him at first but then caught her reflection of herself from the mirror behind him and understood why he’s looking at her like that. She’s glowing in that golden light the way her hand used to when she’s healing someone. It’s her magic radiating from her subconsciously.

“Sorry”, she muttered and took a deep breath to pull her magic back in her body.

When she looked back at her reflection, she’s no longer glowing. She took a step back so her back will be pressed against the counter to hide her lightheadedness. Hamish approached her and she knows she was not able to hide that from him. She makes a lousy liar in front of Hamish and she should have known better.

“Speak to me”, he said.

“It’s nothing. I was just too distracted, I guess. I did not realize my magic was already flaring”, she replied.

“Is it still about the plan?” he asked and she nodded.

“Hamish, you do understand what’s going to happen if the plan fails, right? I’m going to perform that incantation and I am not sure if I will be able to bounce back from it. Doing that ritual requires numbers of practitioners but this is a bit short notice. I’m going to do it alone and that will hit me hard”, she expressed.

They got no time to prepare. If the plan should fail, it has to be done fast before Praxis can retaliate from deceiving them like that.

“Then you don’t have to do it alone. I am can help. Gabrielle and Lilith are both experienced practitioners. We should be enough to replace other disciples. We got our hides’ strengths that will double our magic”, he proposed.

“…but what about Ms. Drake? We can’t just let her walk in there by herself”, she asked.

“Jack and Randall will be there with her. She’s not going to be alone”, he took her hand in his, “You don’t have to do things by yourself anymore, Vera. We’re all here to help you”, he answered.

She sighed in relief.

“Alright…I’ll try and relax now. Sorry for scaring you”, she replied.

\-----------------------------------

THE SPA AT NORWICH INN (SATURDAY NIGHT)

Alyssa, Jack, and Randall walked through the front doors of the place armed with upgraded Pulveris Memoria. The plan is simple. The powder is going to be mixed in their drinks while they celebrate their supposed victory. The three of them already drank an immunity potion so the powder will not have any effect on them when they drink too. Jack and Randall had been less exposed to Praxis since Hamish was captured by Foley before and Gabrielle is originally a member of the Order who’s been surveilled by Praxis. Lilith has been asked to stay behind with Vera so that leaves the two boys to accompany Alyssa to the lion’s den.

“Are you guys ready?” Alyssa asked both of them.

“Honest answer? Not in the slightest”, Randall answered.

Jack squeezed her hand.

“We got your back”, he said.

“I know”, she took a deep breath and faced forward, “Let’s do this”, she said and they went behind enemy’s line.

\-----------------------------------

TEMPLE

Meanwhile, Vera, Hamish, Lilith, and Gabrielle had setup at the ritual room just in case the plan fails. It is just a contingency. They need to act fast so Alyssa, Jack and Randall wouldn’t be hurt. Once all is set at the altar, they stood around it.

“Alright, so how would we know if the plan fails?” Lilith asked.

Gabrielle handed her an earpiece that’s connected to Randall and Jack. She thought of that beforehand so they can listen in to what’s happening. Hamish handed one to Vera but she shook her head and put it aside.

“Listening is not going to be enough for me. I need to see what’s going on”, she explained.

“You got a body cam on them you’re not telling us about?” Lilith asked.

Hamish felt her magic first before the words escaped her lips.

“liceat mihi ut videre”, she casted before her eyes turned white.

With that spell, Vera hops from one member to another inside the spa so she can see what they’re seeing. It’s like she’s doing piggyback on their eyesight. Hamish’s heart is pounding as he can feel the continuous flow of her magic. He noted that she did not do a sacrifice for that spell.

“It’s time. The party is about to begin”, Vera announced.


	19. Poser

THE SPA AT NORWICH INN

The three of them dove into the middle of the crowd. None of the members know yet why they’ve summoned for a gathering. They can only speculate that Luis will announce it later on. After a few minutes, Randall slipped away from them and started spiking the drinks. Jack had soon followed while Alyssa caught Luis’ attention.

“I’m glad you made it”, he greeted.

“Thanks for the invites. So…how’s everyone taking the news?” she asked.

“They don’t know it yet. I figure it will be a nice surprise for everyone to learn about it tonight”, he answered with a smile.

Not far from them, Jack listened in closely just in case Alyssa needed rescuing. When he glanced over to his left, he saw one member of Praxis whose eyes flickered in full white before returning to normal. He frowned when the man approached him.

“Uh…can I help you?” Jack asked the weird guy.

“Number one rule of disguise, Mr. Morton, is to blend in. You stand out by just acting so jumpy and weird”, the guy answered.

It took his brain a few seconds to catch the guy’s drift and realized who he’s really talking to.

“Vera?”

“That’s Grand Magus to you, Mr. Morton, but yes, it’s me”, she snapped and it just confirmed to Jack that it’s really her.

Only Vera Stone has no ambition for power but refused to be address without her title. The irony in her never fails to make Jack smiles in amusement.

“Sorry, Grand Magus. Randall and I were finished spiking the drinks. Alyssa is talking to Dr. Cortez. I heard he’s about to announce it to everyone tonight”, Jack reported.

The guy possessed by Vera nodded.

“Be careful and keep watch. I’ll be around”, she said through him before the guy’s eyes flashed in white again and then blinked.

He looked at Jack confusingly like he does not recall coming over to talk to him.

“Are you okay, dude?” Jack handed him a glass of drink, “Here, you looked pale”, he offered.

“Thanks, man. I guess I’m just really nervous. This is my first time in this kind of thing”, the guy accepted and finished the entire glass.

\-----------------------------------

TEMPLE

Back at the ritual room, everyone is staring at Vera in awe. Although they cannot see what she’s seeing, they can hear Jack’s responses through the comms as well as Vera’s words coming out of that guy’s mouth. Vera continued to hop from one member to another before they all heard, “Settle down, people!”.

“They’re starting”, Hamish muttered.

He felt a wave of magic came out of Vera as focused harder. Lilith eyed him when she saw he’s getting distracted. She has an idea why he looks so scared with Vera doing magic but she cannot really blame her. There’s a lot at stake with this plan. Vera is after all the Grand Magus. She will always be a leader and be responsible for her disciples and the magic. Hamish should understand that of all people.

“Something is wrong”, Vera muttered before pushing her magic more into it.

Her eyes are full-on white and her magic is now visible around her body not just to him but to Gabrielle and Lilith too.

“Vera, take it easy”, he muttered but she did not listen.

“Something is not right”, she repeated.

\-----------------------------------

THE SPA AT NORWICH INN

Luis took the small platform which happened to be the stage to get everyone’s attention. He is holding a piece of paper in his hand which is the Fors Factoram.

“Brothers and sisters, I have great announcement to make. Today is the day that our chance will begin. I hold here in my hand the incantation that will allow us to use magic to its full potential without worrying about that pesky thing called sacrifice. We can heal those who are ill with unlimited magic. We can stop wards. We can bring to justice those who harm others. I hold here the Fors Factoram Incantation!”

The crowd cheered at the announcement.

Randall and Jack eyed each other from a distance. Almost everyone at the grounds had already drank the spiked beverage

“Now, we owe this victory to a very loyal and dedicated member of Praxis. Someone who went through extreme lengths to get us this incantation that will free us all. Someone who defied those who think they have the right to keep magic from us”, Luis turned to Alyssa who went up the stage and stood next to him.

It earned gasps from the audience. As Vera jumped to the member closest to the stage, she found out why she’s been feeling bad about the whole plan.

Alyssa glanced over to Luis before it happened. Their faces glowed and standing in Alyssa’s place and clothes is Luis. The man who’s supposed to be Luis became some random guy none of them knew. Luis groaned upon seeing himself wearing girl clothes. He quickly magic himself a pair of shirt and jeans and hummed in approval.

“Sorry about that. I do like a good surprise”, Jack and Randall remained frozen on the spot as they saw that happen before their eyes. “This was supposed to be a fake Fors Factoram but I never liked forgery so I stole the original one”,

“What in the world…” Randall muttered.

“Let’s welcome two of the Order’s finest and also Knights of St. Christopher, Jack Morton and Randall Carpio!” Luis announced.

…and people started looking towards them both. Jack snarled at Luis.

“Where is she? Where is Alyssa?” he asked.

“Oh, her…I think death might have lessened her wit and stealth. Snooping around for information, it’s not her greatest strength but don’t worry, she’s fine. She’s just chilling somewhere. We don’t harm anyone”, Luis answered.

Randall scoffed with that.

“You don’t harm anyone? How about those people who died while your members experimented on magic?” he asked.

“Unfortunate casualties, I agree with you, that was barbaric. It was not me though who was at the helm during those times. Now, I don’t condone public practices of magic unless they got full mastery of it. All trainings and exercises were done in safehouses so no civilians will be harmed”, Luis answered.

Jack realized that during the time they’ve been planning everything including the time Vera fought off Victor, it was not Alyssa who was with them. It was Luis all along posing as her. It would explain _Alyssa’s_ insistence to wait to be affectionate, stating _she was not ready_. Like a fool, he bought it all. He, of all people, should know the difference between a real Alyssa and a poser. Now, Luis knows the plan to powder everyone and the powder they’re carrying may not have been Pulveris Memoria after all.

“Give the incantation back”, he muttered.

“I am afraid I cannot do that, Jack Morton”, Luis replied.

“You’ve been with us for some time, you know what will happen if Vera finds out you got the real one. Do you really want this to come to that?” Jack asked.

He is talking about Vera performing the incantation that will kill everyone in the spa right now with the exception of him and Randall.

“I have seen Vee does incredible things but I know her. Deep down, she does not have the heart to slaughter people like that. She’s too much of a softie you know”, Luis answered.

It was then Jack realized he was not there yet when they discovered the farmhouse. Vera had killed everyone in there when she was having a breakdown of sorts. Luis may have a history with her before but he surely did not know her now.

“I think you met a previous version of Vera Stone”, he muttered.

Randall got the feeling that the last resort is going to happen. Something in him already wants to throw up upon that realization. Everyone around him is going to die.

“Hand it over”, a woman from the crowd demanded.

Everyone turned to her and frowned.

“Mrs. Preston, it’s alright. Nothing bad is going to happen to you”, Luis tried to pacify the lady.

“Hand it over, Luis. I would rather not get my hands dirty”, the woman replied.

Randall shot Jack a look of confusion but he only nodded at him. It’s Vera. Luis is utterly confused at what’s happening and it was until she flashed her white eyes on him that he realized she’s being possessed by Vera.

“Well, Vee…you really full of surprises”, he muttered in awe.

\-----------------------------------

TEMPLE

Hamish, Lilith, and Gabrielle are all tensed. The plan has failed. They have been deceived by the new leader of Praxis no less. He’s been with them for weeks now and listened and saw everything they got. The plan is doomed from the beginning and now, they got the real incantation.

“Hand it over, Luis”, Vera repeated.

 _‘Finders keepers, Vee’_ they heard through the comms.

“You’re not going to be able to perform it”, she muttered.

_‘How so? You performed it. You’re the walking proof that this incantation is possible. We can have unlimited access to magic without sacrifices. Think of all the good it will do. Look at what you’re doing for your disciples. Why do you want to take that chance away from all of us?’_

“…because it is not going to be worth it if your life is going to be the price of power”, she answered.

_‘Let us decide for ourselves. Don’t control things that’s not up to you to control…look at what happened to our daughter’_

Hamish flinched at the violent surge of magic from Vera. Luis hit a nerve and he knew he’s doing it on purpose to throw Vera off.

“Don’t bring her into this”, she warned.

_‘You were so confident you could do it by yourself but then she died because of your negligence. Your arrogance and stubbornness killed her when she could have been happy and alive right now living somewhere else with a family she deserved’_

“Stop”,

_‘It hurts to hear the truth, Vee. It always does’_

“Give it back”,

_‘The answer is no’_

“Fine. You can’t be a leader without followers anyway”, Vera expressed.

The other three in the temple waited for Vera to instruct them to do the incantation but she did not.

“extergimus omnia”, Vera casted and the loud ringing forced the three wolves to remove the earpiece from their ears.

\----------------------------------

THE SPA AT NORWICH INN

Everyone froze after Vera casted that spell before their faces went blank. They’re not dead. They just looked…dormant.

“What did you do?” Luis asked.

The man who posed as him earlier turned to him as his eyes flashed in white.

“I knew you will sabotage the powder. You did well in pretending to be Ms. Drake up until I apologized for not being able to help her with her magic back then. You appeared clueless and clueless is not a trait of Ms. Drake. That powder Mr. Morton and Mr. Carpio put in all of the drinks are not meant to temporarily removed everyone’s memories…it’s more of a permanent basis. As much as it would be easier to just kill everyone, I already got enough blood on my hands so if I cannot kill them, I can definitely take everything from their heads. Now, you’re just one desperate man wanting a piece of magic that’s not yours”, Vera answered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas everyone!!! I am putting this chapter now since it's only a few hours away before it's Christmas here in Manila. I just got my nintendo switch so i know my attention will be diverted to it. I don't know what i was thinking getting it since i got work and school but what the hell, life is short...might as well get the most out of it. Happy Holidays!!!
> 
> P.S. I will still try my best to write :-)


	20. Blank

TEMPLE

Gabrielle can still recall the way Vera erased that stranger she saw with her in her house. At first, she felt a wave of shock hit her before terror filled her heart. The way Vera casted the spell was so casual like it meant nothing erasing that man’s entire memories. Now, all she can feel is reverence towards her Grand Magus. Despite the threat they’re facing, she still found a way to show compassion towards Praxis’ members. Killing them will be the safest choice for the Order but she removed their memories instead. It was harsh, yes, but at least they’re all alive. She can volunteer later on to implant false memories into them so they can continue on with their lives. It will be a hell of an assignment but it will be worth it considering the alternative.

Hamish, on the other hand, wanted to teleport himself to the spa and just ripped Luis’ throat out. He kept thinking that day in Vera’s office when Tundra was suggesting the idea. He should have just let his hide do the work. It would have saved them this trouble. He glanced over to Vera whose eyes remained white as she used someone else’s consciousness and sight to her advantage.

_‘So, are you going to delete my memories too, Vee? Are you going to make me forget how you scream my name those nights when we were together?’_

Tundra is literally writhing inside him. He bet he can run to the spa in a matter of minutes and Luis will be dead by then. He is wishing that Jack and Randall will end that asshole’s life right now so Vera will not have to listen to Luis’ nonsense and insults towards her.

“Give the incantation back”, Vera repeated.

_‘This is mine now…and of discussion’_

“держите текст вне поля зрения”, she suddenly muttered.

The three of them frowned at her. That was not a spell or at least not the usual ones they read and memorized. It’s not Latin.

_‘What did you do? What was that?’_

“…like I said, you will not going to perform that incantation”, she said.

\-----------------------------------

THE SPA AT NORWICH INN

Luis hurriedly checked the Fors Factoram Incantation and his eyes widened in shock when he saw the page has turned blank. He was certain it was the original one and the spell was right there before he got on stage.

“Alec Gamontov made sure that I will be able to keep that incantation safe from those who would want to use it for their personal gain. I guess you can say I am the guardian of Fors Factoram. I have been for years. That was supposed to be in possession of Grand Magus but no Grand Magus can be trusted back then to keep it and only use it for emergency so it was given to me. I had my suspicion about you or rather the odd Ms. Drake that was with me at the temple. Do you really think I will let you walk away with the real incantation without any precaution?” Vera expressed.

All those Russian language lesson she had with Alec paid off. It is tricky to use Russian as a language for magic spells but once she got full mastery of it, the spell became trickier for anyone to detect. She cannot explain it but the change in language also change the spells’ aura so when other practitioners inspect it, they couldn’t detect any underlying incantation put on things that was protected by Russian spells. She did the same thing with the Fors Factoram to make sure it will be well protected. No one is going to be able to cast it because the spell will be hidden from their sights. All they will ever see is a blank sheet of old paper and only her can restore the spells on it.

“Always the smart one…” he shook his head, “…why do you always have to be the smart one?” Luis muttered.

He neatly rolled the paper and put it back inside his jacket.

“Just hand it over and we’ll let you walk away”, Vera proposed.

Luis pursed his lips before shaking his head.

“You know you’re so much fun back when you’re on your knees gasping and choking. Well…I got all the time in the world to figure out how to undo your spell on this one so you can just go and fuck off, Vee”, Luis spat before casting a death spell on the man Vera had possessed.

\------------------------------------

TEMPLE

She felt that dark magic entered that man’s body. She felt it as it hit him directly into his heart and it pushed her out of his consciousness and back to her own. She couldn’t help the gasp that escaped her lips and she felt Hamish’s hands on her back, preventing her from falling backwards.

Hamish had sensed something interrupted her magic and he knew the connection was severed. He was already walking towards her when she gasped and stumbled backwards. When he caught her, her eyes returned to its normal color as she clutched her chest.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

He can hear commotion on his earpiece but his main concern right now is Vera. Gabrielle and Lilith can help Jack and Randall.

“Yes…just give me a moment. I felt that magic even though it was not my body”, she answered.

“You used a lot of magic”, he noted.

She heard the worried tone underneath that statement. She knows she used a lot, a lot. It was necessary. She needed to confirm her suspicion that it was not Alyssa Drake. She needed to be there somehow in order to cast that spell and that’s the only place she can be in two places at once.

“I’m sorry. I have to do it”, he helped her get back up and saw Gabrielle and Lilith removing the earpiece from their ears, “What happened? How’s Mr. Morton and Mr. Carpio?” she asked.

“It’s alright. They got out before Luis can attack them. Unfortunately, he still got the incantation”, she answered.

Vera sighed. They can relax for now since Luis will not be able to perform the incantation but she has no doubt that he will do everything in his power to find a work around to her spell.

“Alright…let me know when they get back. Ms. Dupres, tomorrow morning I need you to gather our disciples and teach them how to implant false memories. We can’t just leave those people at the spa like that”, Vera instructed.

“How would we know what to implant in their heads?” Hamish found himself asking.

“It’s quite easy too. I’ll get on that tomorrow. Right now, I need to lie down”, Vera answered.

“Right. I’ll take you home”, he turned to Lilith and Gabrielle, “Call me if you need anything”, he said and the two girls nodded.

\------------------------------------

VERA’S HOUSE

By the time they got home, Vera is already hot. She got chills and she went to the bathroom thrice to vomit. The amount of magic she used earlier is getting its payback on her body.

“Is this part of the cancer? I don’t remember it being like this before”, he asked as he put cold towel on her forehead.

No, something is different. Her normal symptoms would include nausea, vomiting, and passing out. On extreme occasions, it will include nosebleeds. Never she got fever from it before. Her body is reacting differently and she cannot determine why. Why now? She’s done bigger spells before. What she did earlier though it took a lot of magic, it’s nothing compared to the things she performed before.

“It’s alright. We can talk about it tomorrow. Right now, just rest”, he muttered and tucked her in.

\----------------------------------

When the morning comes, Hamish found himself alone on the bed. He did not realize he fell asleep at some point before the sun rose. Vera is not beside him and she’s not at the bathroom either. He quickly got out of bed and ran downstairs thinking something bad has happened. What if Luis came through the house last night? What if he took Vera to force her to undo her spell on the Fors Factoram? What if she’s hurt?

“Hamish”, her voice snapped him out from his panic mode before he could transform to search for her.

She’s standing by the kitchen with a cup of black coffee on hand. Her hair is worn down. Her face is makeup free, and she’s walking around on his shirt. The weariness from last night is still evident on her face but she must be feeling better to get up and make some coffee.

“I didn’t want to wake you earlier. You must have been up all night. I already made breakfast. Sit down”, she said.

Hamish blinked for a moment before obliging. He watched as Vera served his plate with egg and bacon. She put the same on her plate before sitting next to him. He can hear her heart beating quite fast like she’s nervous about something.

“I don’t think I’m going to be able to eat until you say what you want to say”, he muttered.

Of course, he knew. It must be some special werewolf sense because she just can’t seem to hide anything from him.

“It’s nothing bad but I cannot confirm it to be good either. When I woke up, I feel fine. Actually, I feel better, better than I have felt in a long time. I don’t feel the cancer in me, the exhaustion, the toll of using magic. It’s all gone”,

He turned to her in awe.

“Really? That’s good news. Why do you sound worried?” he asked.

“…because it’s impossible. The cancer can’t just be gone so something must have happened. I just can’t figure out what. I spent the entire morning thinking about it but I cannot find the answer. I don’t like things I cannot explain, Hamish. My body has been messed up enough. I need to know what’s going on with it now”, she answered.

He held her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“We’ll find it. I will help. Right now, we need to eat this lovely breakfast that you made. We don’t want you feeling down again”, he said.

Vera rolled her eyes at his patronizing tone.

“Alright…you don’t have to talk to me like I’m a kid or something”, she snapped.

Hamish chuckled and they began eating breakfast.

\-------------------------------------

TEMPLE

When Vera and Hamish arrived at the temple, the pack is already there waiting for them. Jack looks like he had not gotten any sleep at all and she can already guess why. It is the reason they’re all at the temple right now.

“Any ideas how we can get her back?” Jack asked Vera.

“Alright…let’s take it easy. We can discuss a plan how to get Alyssa back but we got to let Vera breathe”, Hamish said.

“Time is ticking, Hamish”,

“Yeah, but Vera just used a lot of magic last night”, Lilith cut in.

“So, we’re just going to let Alyssa rot somewhere or get tortured or worse?” Jack exclaimed.

Their arguments got cut off when they all heard the slicing of flesh and smelled the scent of iron. All turned to Vera who had cut open her palm and allowed her blood to drip onto her desk. She then traced some symbols using her finger on her blood. It’s barely audible to them the words she uttered before the symbols on the desk glowed. Then, she took a map from the shelves telekinetically and put it down the desk. A spot on the map got torched.

“There’s Ms. Drake. Now, will you stop yelling at each other? It’s making my head hurts and the day is just starting”, she said irritatingly and sat on her chair.

Jack quickly took the map, thanking Vera on his way before he, Randall, and Lilith ran off to rescue Alyssa while Gabrielle excused herself to gather the disciples as instructed. Hamish remained on the spot as he saw Vera frowned as she stares at her palm.

“What is it?”

Vera turned her bloody palm on him and at first, he thought she wanted him to heal her but he saw no cut.

“Did you heal it?” he asked.

“That’s the thing. I did not”, she answered.


	21. Infected

“What was that mean?” Hamish’s question remained unanswered for a few hours.

Vera’s brain is working hundred miles per hour. She’s taking inventory of everything. When she started using more and more of her magic without any sacrifices, the symptoms of cancer worsened as expected and then she rested and stayed with Hamish at home. After that, she used a lot of magic again but instead of getting the same symptoms like before, she got fever and chills. The last time she felt like that was after having a vaccine injection when she was in grade school. Now, she cut open her palm and it healed on its own. What kind of being can heal its own wounds without any magic spell?

“You got to be fucking kidding me…” she swore under her breath but Hamish heard that.

He turned his face in a snap towards her and saw her pinching the bridge of her nose as both irritation and shock coursed through her.

“What is it? You figured out why your hand healed on its own?”

She suddenly sent him a glare which took him back.

“What? What did I do?” he asked in confusion.

Vera groaned and stood up. Hamish watched her as she paced back and forth her office.

“I think I am being infected by you”, he was about to pop another what question at her but she cut him off, “When I got fever last night, I knew something was odd. It’s not part of the symptoms of cancer after I used excessive magic and yet I got it. When I woke up, I feel fine. It’s the same thing that happens with a vaccine. When you get a shot, it will make you sick for some time as it helps your body fight whatever the virus is. Earlier, my hand healed without any healing spell. Do you know any other people or creature in this world that can do that?” she asked him back.

“Werewolves can heal themselves but how would I infect you? Being a werewolf is not contagious, Vera. All of us slept with other people and none of them were infected by werewolf traits”, he argued.

Alyssa Drake is not infected. Before Gabrielle became a Knight, she was not infected too by Randall. Nicole remains Nicole. Vera’s face turned serious.

“Did anyone of them had been beaten by your pack?”

It stopped Hamish from forming more questions and arguments to Vera’s theory.

“I had asked you to bite me more than once, Hamish, and I was not talking about hickeys. I asked you to bite me and draw blood and you did. Have you bitten anyone that live to this day?” he shook his head. When they attacked someone, they all ended up dead. “Well, I guess there goes our answer”, she added.

Is it possible? Could he actually infect Vera by biting her? It’s never been documented before or else he would have read it on the journals of the previous champions.

“I don’t know that it’s possible. What happens next? Are you going to become a werewolf too?” he found himself asking.

“My brain did not get to that part yet. You became werewolves because of the hides. You’re not really the werewolves. I don’t have a hide in my body so I don’t know what would that make me. All I know is that I seemed to have acquired your ability to heal. I don’t feel anything else that’s strange aside from that”, she answered and sat next to him at the couch.

He took a deep breath.

“Well, on the bright side, that’s good right? If you got our healing ability, we don’t have to worry about the cancer”, he noted.

It’s the only take away he got from that revelation and to be honest, it’s the only part that’s important for him. He just wants her to be okay. That’s all. Vera turned to her and smiled genuinely.

“I think that’s very nice outcome to all the craziness that happened to us, but I still would want to know how much more this will affect me. I will visit a friend later today to have my blood examined just to make sure if my theory is right. Can I ask you to do more reading for me about this?” she requested.

“Consider it done”,

“Thank you”, she got up and straightened up her dress, “I should get to Ms. Dupres and teach them how to get what kind of memories they should implant to those people at the spa”, she said and left her office with her complete Grand Magus armor on.

\------------------------------------

DEN

Hamish went to the Den after talking with Vera to gather some journals to read. A part of him jumps in joy to know that somehow, his werewolf traits affecting her is curing her of cancer. It solves their problem about her health and she might not have to worry about using her magic again. Then, there’s that part of him that worries what else his werewolf traits will do to her. Healing ability is not the only part of being a werewolf. There is the short temper, aggressiveness, thirst for blood, and the transformation. Vera made it a point that it will be impossible for her to transform since she does not have a hide in her body unlike them but that makes her a new territory. If they are somehow contagious, what can a werewolf virus do to a human body without a hide?

“Hamish!” Randall called when he got in the house.

He did not even notice them sitting at the living room with freshly rescued Alyssa Drake. He was too preoccupied with Vera that his goal is to get to the basement fast.

“Glad to see you’re okay, Alyssa”, he muttered.

“Thank you. Is Vera angry with me? I had one assignment and I screwed it up. They told me Luis got the real incantation”, she asked.

“No. Vera’s not angry with you. She’s actually worried when we found out you’re being held hostage somewhere. It’s just that, she fell ill after doing that incantation last night so your rescue was delayed by one night”, he answered.

Jack gave him a smile of appreciation which tells him that Alyssa has been beating herself up for being taken by Praxis while on assignment. She’s been trying her best to prove her loyalty to Vera again and Alyssa does not deal well with disappointing others and most especially, disappointing Vera. It’s been like that since day one that she entered the Order. It’s her number one goal to get Vera’s approval. Failing an assignment that she specifically handed to her was huge setback for Alyssa.

“It’s okay. They did not hurt me. Will you tell her I’m sorry?” Alyssa requested.

“Of course…”, he sighed and decided it’s best that they know what’s going on with Vera so they can help, “On that note, I need more pairs of eyes to read on our journals”,

“…about what?” Randall asked.

“I infected Vera with my werewolf traits and she wants to know what else is there aside from the healing ability”, Hamish answered.

That got the three frowning.

“How did you infect her? I did not even know we’re contagious”, Jack asked.

He hesitated to tell them at first but it is best that they know it is a possibility to happen if they try.

“I had bitten her more than once and I am talking about literally biting her, drawing blood and all”, the three made a face and groaned, “…okay, let’s move on from that, so for some reason, I passed on something to her system. Her reaction to using excessive magic had changed and after last night, she developed fever like she had been injected with a vaccine. When she woke up this morning, she already felt fine. Earlier, she cut her palm to do the tracing spell on Alyssa and her palm healed on its own”,

“Is she going to transform like us?” Randall followed up.

“She does not have a hide to do so and out hides are the ones that allowed us to transform so the answer is most likely no, but then this is new for us, so anything is possible, that’s why I needed your help in doing research. Maybe the previous champions encountered this before”, he answered.

“Of course, I am an excellent bookworm”, Alyssa volunteered which received a smile from Hamish.

“I’ll help too. I’m just relieved that Vera’s healing from her cancer”, Jack seconded.

Hamish nodded thanks to their direction.

“I still can’t believe she’s into the biting kink…” Randall muttered.

“Please don’t mention that to Vera if you want to see the next sun rise”, Hamish warned.

“Alright…chill…” he responded.

\----------------------------------

TEMPLE

After Vera taught Gabrielle and the other disciple how to pick memories to implant to those people at the spa, she proceeded to tracking Luis and the Fors Factoram. She does not want to wait for the day to come that he will find a way to break her spell that’s hiding the incantation from his sight.

It seems that Luis might have cloaked himself to prevent her from tracking him. He’s a clever man. She’d always known that. She’s not going to be able to find him the way she found where he hid Alyssa. Still, she kept trying. She kept slicing her palm since it keeps healing on its own. Her desk is covered with her own blood. Her forefinger too is covered with her blood as she traces symbols on her desk with it. At some point, her new healing ability is starting to annoy her as she needs to keep cutting her palm.

“I can smell your blood from the main entrance”, Hamish’s voice made her snapped her head from the desk to his face.

He is eyeing her bloody hands and desk.

“Sorry, I was just trying to find Luis and the incantation but it seems that he did a cloaking spell”, she explained.

“We’ll find him, Vera, but right now, we need to eat. I am starving. Let’s go home”, he said.

“…but it’s too early—”

Her protest died in her tongue as she saw the time on her watch. It’s already seven in the evening.

“Don’t tell me you’ve doing that since Gabrielle and the others left?” she did not answer, “Jesus, Vera…that was ten in the morning. I know your health is bouncing back since the day started but you can’t just stop taking care of yourself like this”, he exclaimed.

She had not noticed the time since she was so focused on finding Luis and the Fors Factoram.

“I wanted to find him and I thought I could if I keep trying. Maybe he will let his guard down at some point”, she tried to explain.

He sighed and went to her. He took a wet wipe from her drawer and gently cleaned her hands from her blood before casting a cleaning spell on her desk, something he learned from Vera.

“He cannot hide forever. I know this is hard for you but if you neglect yourself, how else will you be able to find him? Let’s go home. Rest and recharge. Tomorrow, you can try again and the pack will help. We found him once. We’ll find him again”, she nodded, “Alright…come on. I’ll cook us dinner”, he said.

\----------------------------------

VERA’S HOUSE

Hamish informed Vera that Alyssa Drake has been rescued and that she’s apologizing for not succeeding in her assignment. Vera quickly brushed off the apology since there’s really no need for that. After that, he told her that he told the pack about what’s going on with her so they can help with the research.

“Tell me you did not tell them how you infect me”, he looked away, “Oh for fuck’s sake, Hamish! Really? I will not hear the end of it from Mr. Carpio”, she exclaimed.

Instead of apologizing, Hamish found her reaction amusing and he started laughing. Vera gave him a shocked look before slapping his arm to stop him from laughing.

“Sorry…it’s just”, he laughed some more, “…you’re too adorable when you’re pissed at Randall”, he apologized.

She rolled her eyes and groaned.

“I swear to god, if I heard him say anything about it, he will not be seeing the next sun rise”, she threatened and it made him laugh some more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So i figure that since Vera went through a lot the past few chapters, I will give her a rest with this one and end it on a cute moment before I drop the other shoe...right? (peace!!!!)


	22. Back Again

The following days had not been fruitful for Vera and her quest to find Luis. It’s like he disappeared into thin air. Not even the wolves can trace anything of him. On the bright side, her health has never been better. So far, she’s sure that she had acquired the wolves’ healing abilities but nothing more. Hamish had been keeping a close eye on her just in case he noticed something different in her routine or her temper, something that he will recognize as a trait of werewolves.

In the meantime, Gabrielle and the other disciples, finally, finished their assignments with the former members of Praxis at the spa and all of them had returned to their lives without any memories of joining or knowing about the group. All memories about magic had not been returned to them. They just got implanted with the false memory of being there at the spa attending a seminar on self-improvement. It was a lame excuse but it’s the best Gabrielle could come up with at the time and they all bought it so no harm done.

Alyssa had returned at the temple and continued to do her best to re-earn Vera’s trust and approval even though there’s no need for that really. Jack knew that Vera had long forgiven Alyssa and wanted for things to just return to the way it was. Randall, on the other hand, had tried his best to keep his mouth shut and stop himself from teasing Vera about the biting and getting infected with werewolves’ traits. It was not easy for him but Hamish appreciated his efforts considering Vera had made it clear she does not want to hear it from Randall.

“Do you think it will work?” he asked while he and Vera are looking at an old spell book.

The two of them had been dividing their time finding Luis and researching about any possible explanation about Vera’s condition with the whole healing ability. So far, they discovered no entries at the journals of the Knights about infecting someone via bite since no one survived being attacked by werewolves. Their hides just simply don’t leave survivors. As far as Vera is concern, as long as she’s not going to transform any moment, she’s cool with being infected. She does not want to complicate things by worrying about the Council finding out that the Grand Magus has become a werewolf too. It will throw away everything she had worked for.

“Maybe but we can try it. I can do this spell and it will not take that long”, she answered when the door burst open.

Randall and Jack came in panting.

“Sorry to interrupt but can we steal Hamish for a moment?” Jack asked politely.

“Sure. Is there something wrong, Mr. Morton?” she asked curiously.

Their faces are giving them away. They looked like they’re on edge and badly in need of Hamish’s help.

“No! Something is not wrong. We just need Hamish. It’s Knights’ stuff”, Randall added.

That hit a nerve in Vera that she never thought she has. Did he just tell her to fuck off because it’s none of her business?

“Oh, it’s Knights’ business? But when you all screwed up, you make it my business to clean it up?” the irritation in her voice did not go unnoticed to Hamish.

He can hear her heart beating fast and her temper is rapidly going through the roof.

“He does not mean it like that. He’s probably wanting me to take care of a drunk Lilith at the Den. They do this often when they start a drinking game without a chaperone”, Hamish quickly explained.

She can smell the alcohol from Jack and Randall though so that fits in with Hamish’s explanation and she quickly relaxed.

“Fine. Go and take care of whatever it is. I’ll let you know if this spell will work”, she said and waved them all out.

\----------------------------------

DEN

Hamish gave Randall a stern talking to after saying that to Vera. After everything they went through, Vera does actually hope that somehow, the Knights had learned to accept her as part of the family and she is, but whenever she hears something like what Randall said earlier, it just hurts her without saying it out loud.

“Okay, this better be an emergency because I was supposed to be helping her do this old spell”, he said to the two boys when they got in the house.

“Oh, we’re sure it’s definitely an emergency”, Jack muttered.

The three turned and headed to the living room but Hamish stopped on his tracks as soon as her face hits him.

“What?”

He cannot believe what his eyes are seeing. _Is this real?_ He asked himself. She’s been dead a long time ago. _What’s going on?_

“Hello, Hamish”, her talking just made it very real.

“Cassie?”

\------------------------------------

TEMPLE

The spell did not work. She performed it thrice and nothing happened and she still couldn’t find Luis. She checked her watch and Hamish has not returned yet in more than five hours. _What have they done now?_ She is starting to think the pack did something stupid again like the Kepler incident and there’s going to be another problem for her to solve. She dialed Hamish’s number but he’s not picking up. He’s also not returning any of her messages. Even Jack is not answering his phone. She can feel it in her guts that something’s wrong so she grabbed her keys and bag and headed out the temple to get to the Den.

\-----------------------------------

DEN

“I don’t understand. What’s going on? Did you guys do this?” Hamish asked in confusion.

Jack was able to raise Alyssa back to life but he said that was one time free pass. No one can bring someone back to life without paying a huge price.

“No, we did not. We’re just surprised when she showed up here”, Lilith answered, understanding his confusion.

It was her first worry when Cassie showed up an hour earlier. Hamish loved her with all of his heart. There is no doubt in that, but he had moved on, finally, after years of beating himself up for what happened to her. Now, he’s with Vera. How’s that going to work now that Cassie is back in the picture?

“You should hear her out”, Randall said.

Cassie cleared her throat as it is her turn to speak.

“After that raid, I was captured by the Order and brought me to this dark room. I think it’s a warehouse, of sorts. They performed something which severed me from Timber. It was painful. I felt like I was dying. When my hide was gone, they tortured me for information. They wanted to know where is the Den, how many Knights are there? I did not answer until finally, they got tired of me and that was the last thing I remember. When I woke up, I was in the middle of the woods and then I started running back here”, she narrated.

Hamish used to be mad at the Order for Cassie’s death and he’s still furious about what happened to her but how can he bring himself to hate the Order now when Vera is its Grand Magus? When they are now a part of the Order?

“Cassie, I don’t know what to say”, he muttered.

She smiled at him, the same smile that used to lighten up his day, take away his pain and fears.

“It’s alright. I know it’s hard after everything that happened. They told me it’s been five years and they told me a lot has changed now like how the Knights are now part of the Order and you’re with someone too. I get it and it’s okay”, she walked towards him and he smelled her familiar scent and his emotions bubbled up inside. She’s really back. “I just missed you so much, Hamish”, she said.

He did not notice it when she cupped his face and pulled him in for a kiss. His body just responded. It felt familiar, like a blast from the past. He knows her lips, the way she kissed, and somehow it feels a bit foreign. It was not the same kiss he’s now accustomed to.

“Hamish”,

Her voice is like a splash of cold water and he quickly pushed Cassie away and turned around. Vera is standing by the door, looking at him with wide eyes. She clearly did not expect seeing that when she decides to pay them a visit. Actually, she did not know what to expect but she thought it’s going to be another problem that she needs to help them but it turns out, there’s no problem at all. She’s just not wanted there like what Randall had said. It’s ‘Knights’ stuff’.

“Vera, I can explain—”, Hamish muttered but got cut off when Cassie stepped forward.

“She’s Vera Stone?” her voice is laced with an accusation, “You’re with that woman? Do you know what she’s done?” she asked.

Now, everyone is confused even Vera.

“Cassie, calm down. We already explained this”, Randall tried to pacify her.

“Cassie?” Vera turned to Hamish as the name made her realized something.

She’s his dead ex-girlfriend, only now, she’s not dead.

Cassie immediately turned to Vera and lunged forward, “You…” Hamish quickly caught her before she can get near her, “…I remember you! You were there! You’re one of the people who tortured me and killed me!” she exclaimed.

All eyes turned to Vera with question marks in them. When her eyes landed on Hamish, she saw the same look and it hurts her the most that he got doubt already in his eyes before she can say her side of the story.

“Is that true?” Lilith asked first.

To be honest, Vera couldn’t remember Cassie at all. She tried to freshen up her memory by looking at the seething woman beside Hamish and it suddenly hit her.

“That was you? That was you who ambushed us on the road?” Vera recalled.

It was a blurred memory but it is now coming back to her.

“Is that what you call it? We were trying to defend those innocent lives that were killed by your magic”, Cassie spat.

As the memory of it hits Vera, the emotions she longed forgotten resurfaced too and she can feel herself losing it.

“We were on our way to attend a dinner invitation of a friend and you attacked us on the road. I think that’s called ambush”, Vera noted.

She clenched her fists in an attempt to control herself. This is not a good time to lose control.

“So, it’s true then? You tortured Cassie and then killed her?” Randall asked but it’s more of a formed conclusion.

Vera glanced over at Hamish and saw the same thing registered on his face and her grip on her magic is slipping away. Jack was the one who noticed her struggle to keep it together.

“Maybe we should sit down and talk this out calmly so we can better understand what happened?” he suggested but no one listened.

His eyes met Vera’s and she understood what he’s trying to do.

“What would be the point, Mr. Morton? It seems that everyone in this house already made up their minds about my involvement without knowing the entire story. I’ll leave you in peace. I’m sure you got a lot of things to catch up on”, she muttered and turned around.

Still angry, Cassie grabbed the baseball bat by the corner and took a few steps forward towards Vera.

“Oh no, you don’t get to walk away after what you did”,

“Don’t. I don’t want to blow up this whole house”, Cassie stopped when she saw some strands of golden light radiating off of her body. “You value this second life, I suggest you cherish it”, Vera warned.

“Are you threatening me?” Cassie asked.

Vera turned to face her.

“I don’t do threats. Just be grateful you’re back. Take this time to live a good life because if you pull off something like that night again, you’re going to make me regret that I turned down Edward’s offer to finish you off myself after what you’ve done to him”, she answered.

With one last look to Hamish, she left abruptly with a renewed anger in her chest that she had not felt in a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cassie's back!!! and she and Vera are off to a very rough start...the other shoe had dropped. Warning for angsty chapters ahead...


	23. Sammy

FIVE YEARS AGO – TEMPLE

Vera groaned and tossed the book on the desk inside her office. Her eyes already sting from staring at the pages for hours and she’s not getting anywhere.

“Don’t tell me you’ll let that book beat you”, she looked up at the door, “That’s not the Vera Stone I remember”, Edward greeted as he walks in the room.

It only made her roll her eyes in frustration and waved the book back to the shelf where it came from.

“I just wish we know enough about the creature who killed those students”,

“Disciples”, he corrected.

“They’re still students, Ed. I am the Temple Magus and the Chancellor of the school and I failed to protect them”, Vera insisted.

Edward sighed and sat upon her desk.

“You’re one person, Vera. You can’t possibly watch over everyone at the same time. I know this is not the best time but you know my offer still stands. That spot at the Council remains open and it’s yours if only you will say yes”, he proposed.

Vera stood up and walked around before Edward stopped her by grabbing her arm gently. She halted and turned around.

“Edward, you know I have no interest in politics and arguing with Bitsy all day long is going to be the death of me but thank you for the offer. It’s flattering but I am happy with where I am”, she declined for the nth time.

He sighed in defeat and nodded, finally accepting her refusal for the position.

“Well, since you will not accept my offer to promote you to Councilor, you might like this next one”, he gestured towards the door.

She turned around and gasped when she saw a man standing by the door with a bouquet of flowers.

“Sammy!” she exclaimed and almost ran towards him.

He received her with an embrace while Edward laughed behind them.

“Easy there, Stone. You’re going to crush me”, Sammy greeted.

She pulled back and straightened up his top with an apologetic look.

“Sorry…I did not know you’re back here in Norwich”, she apologized.

Sammy winked at Edward who walked towards them before handing the flowers to Vera with a charming smile.

“Our generous Grand Magus here made it possible by casting a spell on my partners in Tokyo so they would let me off the hook with the board meeting. He said I will be a wonderful gift for the birthday girl”, he explained.

Vera turned to Edward.

“Happy birthday, Vera”, he greeted.

Then, Sammy put his arms on both Vera and Edward and pulled them both towards him.

“Now, the gang is complete again. Where to, Eddie?” he asked with contagious enthusiasm that made Vera laughed.

“Sophie prepared us a feast at the house. She baked Vera’s favorite cake”, Edward answered.

“Alright…now, I am starving”, she turned to Sammy, “You’re riding with me”, then pulled her away from Edward who got left behind at her office.

“Oh…okay. No worries! I’ll just lock up in here and follow you guys! Leave it to the Grand Magus to close the office!” Edward yelled in protest before he started laughing again.

\-------------------------------------

VERA’S CAR

Sammy insisted on driving so she gave her the keys and let him drive. It’s been almost six years since she last saw Sammy and she wanted to know all of his adventures ever since he took on being an Adepti. The three of them are the best of friends in Belgrave but their respective careers pulled them away from one another. Edward gradually climbed up the ladder and became the Grand Magus. She settled on being the Temple Magus and the Chancellor of Belgrave University so she can teach and mold the new disciples of the Order while Sammy wanted to see the world, hence, being an Adepti.

“So, you turned down Eddie’s offer to become a Councilor huh…”

“Since when I became interested in all of that? I am happy to be a Temple Magus”, she explained.

“Yeah…told him that too. You’re a teacher at heart, a nurturer. Ambition and power are not enticing for your appetite and that’s why I’m always proud of you, Stone”, he gave her a smile.

“Samuel Thorns, are you getting emotional over me now?” she teased with a chuckle.

“I am just stating a fact, Stone. Out of the three of us, you’re the one who got the smartest brain, the strongest resolve, and you have every reason to crave power but you don’t. You have a big heart. Eddie and I already talked about it. He said that he will support you no matter what path you choose. We’ll always be your protector. I can be your big brother that you never have”,

“Oh big brother huh? What about Ed then?” she asked, playing along with Sammy.

He laughed at that.

“That’s a tough one. He can’t be your big brother. That would be incest”,

Vera gasped.

“Oh no, you did not! I never slept with Edward!” she exclaimed.

It made him laugh some more.

“I did not say you did but you thought about it and I know he did too but it’s cool. Our friendship is more important to the two of you than sex so it’s all good”, he said.

She turned red at the implications but did not offer anything for her defense. She knows it’s true at the back of her mind but since she does not want everything to be awkward, she reigned herself in to stop herself from pursuing anything with Edward.

“Well, don’t bring any of this up when we get to his house. I don’t want things to be awkward when we see Sophie. I like her”, she replied.

“Yes, ma’am”, his phone beeped and he was about to check the message when Vera snatched it from him. “Sorry”, she never liked his habit of texting while driving, “So, I bought a house in Tokyo. When are you coming over to see it?” he asked.

“In Tokyo? Sammy, I just can’t leave Belgrave even if I want to. I am Temple Magus now”, she explained.

He scoffed.

“Leave it to Eddie! He’ll take care of it. It’s just a week or two. Come on, even the boss lady needs some time off too. What do you say? Eddie is in”, he insisted.

She thought about it for a moment, weighing her options. She’s certain that if Edward is in, there’s no way she can say no. The two of them are just going to bug her about it and she wants to spend more time too with her two boys.

“Fine. I’ll arrange for it”, she agreed.

Sammy laughed and yelled a cheer for convincing her to come to Tokyo for a vacation. Vera Stone rarely takes time off so when she does, it’s a celebration. She laughed at his reaction and she’s starting to feel that this is going to be her best birthday yet in quite a while…though that thought did not last. It was brief but her eyes caught it. A shadow moved so fast from her side before she saw it approaching from Sammy’s side.

“Watch out!” she yelled before everything went dark.

All she heard was grunting and fighting. Her head is throbbing and her muscles are sore. She tried to sit up and broken pieces of glass pierced her palms and arms. When she looked around, she’s no longer inside the car. The car is now behind her in an upside down position. Then, to her left is Sammy on the ground…covered in blood.

“Sammy? Sammy?” she crawled, disregarding the glass scraping her skin, to get to him. “Come on, wake up”, her hand landed on his wrist and she found no pulse. “Shit…come on, Sammy!” and gave it a few shakes but nothing.

It was only then that her eyes landed on his throat. It’s wide open. A gasped escaped her lips and she felt herself completely frozen. She can hear the growling sounds around her and she knows it’s the creature responsible for the deaths of her disciples, and now the death of her best friend. She couldn’t take her eyes off of Sammy’s body. Her brain couldn’t grasp the idea that he’s gone. He was so alive just a few minutes ago. He was so…happy. He’s going to show her his house in Tokyo. They’re going to spend some time together. The shock soon was replaced with a wave of rage as the growling draws nearer. Her magic just bubbled up and resurfaced from within and escaped her body as she screamed at the top of her lungs with grief.

Her magic came out of her body and threw away those who tried to charge on her. She stayed by Sammy’s side as the nausea hits her. She had used an unchecked magic without being conscious about it and now, her vision is getting blurry. She’s probably going to die now but she couldn’t bring herself to care. Her best friend died.

“Avolare!” she heard someone yelled.

Sammy never looked pale. He loved the sun, the sea. He said it’s good for the health and all. She always said that UV rays are never good for the health but he’s just the type of person who loved being out and experiencing everything the world can offer. Now, his skin has never been paler. He’s almost white.

“Vera? Vera? Shit…” she felt hands over her arms and shook her forcefully, “Look at me!” her eyes landed on Edward’s worried face.

Oh, that’s right. They left him at the temple because she was too excited to talk with Sammy. He must have caught up with them on the road but it’s too late.

“Sammy…”

“I know. He’s gone but you can’t die too. Can you get up?” he asked.

Can she? She’s not sure. Her body just stopped moving all of a sudden. She heard another growl followed by Edward’s annoyed groan before he casted more spells. At some point, she felt him put a protective barrier around her and Sammy’s body, protecting them from danger. After a few minutes, the barrier disappeared and Edward had scooped her up from the ground.

“We can’t leave him…please”, she whispered as she hovers between consciousness and darkness.

“We won’t. I got you, Vera”, she heard him say before she passed out.

\------------------------------------

She must be in shock still because she just couldn’t bring herself to cry at Sammy’s funeral. Edward had taken care of it all. When she woke up at the hospital, she’s almost healed. She knows it’s Edward but she never asked. She can barely bring herself to carry a conversation. She kept it short and professional, answering questions by yes or no and nothing more. She refused speaking on the funeral too. After that, she threw herself with work and more research about the creatures who attacked them. She did not get a good look at them that night but based on their growling, she is certain they’re some sort of an animal.

Vera brought the glass of whisky on her lips as she scoured her entire reliquary for answers.

“Drinking at this hour is not like you, Vera”, she does not need to look to know who it is.

“I am busy, Edward”, she snapped.

“I know. Stop reading those books. I got what you’re looking for”, he said.

\-----------------------------------

WAREHOUSE

Edward had brought her to an abandoned warehouse at the outskirts of Norwich. She did not ask why he took her there. She knows he’s not going to hurt her but she’s curious what he got for her. When they entered the warehouse, she saw a woman with her hands tied up on a rope to the ceiling.

“What’s this?” she asked finally.

“…the creature who killed Sammy. Well, she’s not that anymore since I stripped it off of her but it was her who attacked you on the road”, he answered.

She took a good look at her and pieced it all with the things she read on her books.

“A werewolf”, she concluded.


	24. Show Me

PRESENT DAY – VERA’S HOUSE

Cassie’s back from the dead. Vera still couldn’t wrap her head around that and more importantly, she couldn’t believe it was her who had killed Sammy five years ago. She knows werewolves attacked them that night but she never thought it to be Hamish’s ex-girlfriend. It was not her idea to torture her for information. It was Edward. The two of them got different ways of dealing with grief. While she shut herself off from the world, Edward turned to violence. He sought out revenge and mistook it for justice. When he offered her a chance to kill Cassie herself, she refused. It’s not what would Sammy want. Edward already had stripped the girl off of her hide. She was defenseless at the time. It wouldn’t be fair but Edward was determined. The girl refused to give him anything.

_‘Let me know if you need me later’_

_‘Where are you going?’ He just looked at her and she knew, ‘You’re still keeping that girl in that warehouse?’_

_‘…not a girl, a monster, a monster who killed our best friend. Don’t ever forget that, Vera!’_

_‘Sammy would never agree to this’_

_‘…but he was not here because of her, was he?’_

_‘How long are you going to torture her?’_

_‘…until I am satisfied’_

Vera had called Kepler that night to distract Edward so she could sneak to the warehouse herself and free the girl before Edward could come back. She was able to do that but the girl did not get far. The next day, Edward informed her that it’s finally over. The girl was killed when he found her in the woods after she ‘ _escaped’_.

The way Hamish looked at her earlier still stings in her chest. He did not bother asking anything and she could see him judging her and believing Cassie right away without hearing her side. So much for sticking with her always. She couldn’t really blame him though. Cassie is his first love and now that she’s back, where does that leave her?

“I should change the enchantments around my house”, she muttered when she felt Jack standing in her living room.

She finished her glass before turning to him.

“I did not want to argue. I just want to know everything. That’s all”, he said.

With a wave of her hand, her glass got refilled.

“So you can do what, Mr. Morton? Your friends probably planning on how to kill me so you better join them. Planning is a very important stage”, she spat and resumed drinking.

“No. They’re not planning on doing that. They’re confused like I am”, he disagreed.

“…not like you are, Mr. Morton. We both know that”,

“Hamish…”

“Stop”, her glare stopped his mouth from saying more, “I want to be alone right now, Mr. Morton. I will be in the future anyways so might as well get used to it again now”, she cut him off.

Jack sighed. She and Hamish had been together in the house and now that he’s not there, he can feel the emptiness and sadness of the place. He couldn’t imagine what Vera must be feeling.

“Will you at least tell me what happened between you and Cassie? If you don’t want to tell them, just tell it to me. Please, I want to understand”, he pleaded.

She knows there is no getting rid of him so might as well let him know. She stretched her hand towards him and he stepped forward to give her his hand. She whispered a spell and his palm got cut open and then another spell before something hit his brain.

Vera left Jack at the kitchen as he goes through that day five years ago in his brain. She just chose to show it to him to spare herself from talking. She does not have the energy for it right now so she settled on her sofa, nursing her drink. When it’s over, Jack followed her there while panting. His eyes are still sore from crying.

“You freed her. You freed Cassie even though she killed your friend”, he muttered.

Vera sighed. The alcohol is loosening her tongue and resisting Jack is quite exhausting. The kid is just so damn persistent.

“Killing her will not bring Sammy back. There’s been so much bad blood between two organizations. Werewolves believed the Order use magic for evil. The Order believed werewolves’ goal is to annihilate us all. One of the disciples messed up with magic five years ago and ended up killing another student by accident. He did not mean it but it happened. The werewolves thought it as otherwise and went after the disciples. They thought they were doing their duty that night by ambushing us and Edward wanted to match it with violence. It will never end so I freed her hoping that act would show the wolves that not all of us are monsters but that did not work out well. She still died and now, she’s back and everyone is angry again. So, hooray for me”, she poured out and raised her glass to Jack.

“Tell them or show them what happened. Show them what you showed me so they will understand”, he suggested.

He does not want for things to go back to that point where Knights and the Order are on opposite sides again.

“After everything that has happened, Mr. Morton, if I still have to explain myself to prove myself, I don’t think it’s worth it. Besides, they already made up their minds. Explaining will be a waste of my time. Don’t worry, the agreement is still standing so you don’t have to worry about the Council coming after you unless you cause another problem, you should be fine”, she responded.

“…but what about Hamish?” he asked.

“He’s old enough to decide for his own. It’s late, Mr. Morton. You should go now”, she answered and waved the door open for him.

Jack wanted to say more, to convince her not to give up yet on Hamish, but he can see her weariness and the reopened wound of Sammy’s death that Cassie had brought out so he held back and left the house.

As soon as Jack had left, Vera sunk on her sofa. It’s so much better when Edward had carried all the weight of Sammy’s death on his shoulders back then. He shouldered it all to spare her but now, Edward’s not around. She had helped in sending him to hell or wherever it is he’s in. Sammy won’t be happy about that either. She had given up on Edward after he got drowned in power just like she had given up in seeking justice for his death.

“It’s sad how quickly they turned on you”,

She shut her eyes and sighed out loud.

“Oh for fuck’s sake…please get out of my house”, she hissed.

Luis smirked and opened up his arms.

“Here I thought you’re desperately trying to find me. Here I am”, he mocked.

She glared at him.

“You are not here. You’re just astral projecting to my house so leave”, she said.

“You are really good with magic”,

“…and you’re crap with astral projection”, she spat.

He laughed.

“Fair enough. How do you like my present to your boy toy?” he asked.

Vera studied him for a minute before realizing what he’s referring to.

“You did not…that was you? You brought Cassie back?” she asked in disbelief.

He smiled smugly.

“I did some research about Mr. Duke and discovered about his dead girlfriend and I figured I should show my appreciation for all the time he spent taking care of you and what better way to do that than to bring back the woman he loved the most. It was a mess though that spell. The lady I grabbed from somewhere was loud and a crybaby but she was a worthy sacrifice for Cassie. A life for a life. I did not step on your toes now, did I?” he answered proudly.

It’s no token of appreciation. Luis did that to separate her and Hamish and, in that regards, he succeeded.

“So, you still haven’t cracked my spell on the Fors Factoram”, she noted.

“Well, that’s why I am here to offer you a deal”,

She made a face.

“You undo your spell and I will undo mine. It’s a win-win, Vee. I get what I want and you get your boy toy back”, he offered.

If she’s being honest, that offer is tempting. Of course, she wants Hamish back with her. She wants cuddling with him at night while watching movies. She wants waking up next to him, having breakfast with him in the kitchen. She wants what she had with him back but what about Hamish? What does he want? He was so broken when Cassie died and now, he got her back. She cannot take her away from him again and watch him get broken once more because of her death. That would have been selfish of her and she loves him too much to hurt him like that.

“That’s a lovely offer but I am going to pass. No, thank you”, she declined.

“Don’t be a martyr, Vee. It’s obvious how much you want him back. Are you really going to sacrifice your own happiness for a spell?” he asked.

“If it means I keep people like you from accessing unlimited magic to wreak havoc on this planet, I guess I’ll be alone for the rest of my life”, she answered.

The smile on his face dropped.

“You don’t have to decide now. Let’s see how long you’ll last knowing that you have the power to get your man back but you won’t because you’re too stubborn. When you change your mind, let me know. I can always find you”, he said and disappeared.

\------------------------------------

TEMPLE

What better way to deal with heartbreak than diving into work? That’s what Vera did. No one will be able to tell that deep inside she’s falling apart. It’s been quite some time since she’s last been heartbroken. It does not suit her but heart is breaking.

Throughout the day, she only saw one werewolf and it’s Gabrielle who dropped by to check on her and tell her that she believes she wouldn’t do anything without a reason. Jack had not told her what she showed him but she’s grateful nonetheless for the girl’s loyalty and faith towards her. Alyssa Drake showed up too for her temple duty but kept her distance. She knows Jack told her because she kept throwing her a sympathetic glance from a far.

When she attended a board meeting at school, she had not seen Hamish in the conference room or at the campus’ vicinity. She should stop herself from looking but it’s an old habit and old habit dies hard.

So work it is…

It’s almost midnight and she’s still at the temple scouring her books in search of a way to crack Luis’ cloaking spell so she can finally end her ex’s wicked quest to get unlimited power when she felt him watching her.

“I have a long day today so I will appreciate it if we can delay the confrontation some other time”, she said without looking at him.

It’s some unexplained connection but it’s there between them. She can feel him even though they’re in the middle of a crowd. She just knows.

“I went to your house and you’re not there so I figured you’re still here. We need to talk”, Hamish said.

Doesn’t he understand the concept of busy? Confronting emotions is not her forte. It has never been.

“If you’re concern about the agreement, it’s still standing like what I told to Mr. Morton last night. You and your pack are safe from the Council”, she faces him with her usual mask.

She had not worn that mask in quite some time, not in front of him.

“That’s not what I came here for”,

“Then why are you here?” she asked.

“I want to see what you showed Jack. I want to understand because all I keep seeing in my head is finding Cassie’s dead body five years ago. I need to know see what really happened…please”, he answered.


	25. Connected

Vera pinched the bridge of her nose. It is hard to forget a horrible moment of your life when there are people keep asking you to retell it or in this case, re-show it again and again. Sammy is a sore subject that even she and Edward had learned to just stay mute when it comes to their dead friend but here is Hamish asking her to show him what happened that night just a few hours earlier after she showed it to Jack. All she wanted is for things to go back to the way they were. They got one problem left and everything is going to be fine but no, Luis just complicated it even more for her for one fucking incantation…

“Vera”,

Her eyes glared at the man standing in front of him and she saw fear and concern in those blue eyes.

“What?” she snapped.

His eyes mapped her from head to toe and she caught her reflection on the mirror by the wall. She’s glowing again as her magic radiates off of her. She closed her eyes and forced herself to calm down. Losing control of her magic even though she’s healing on her own is not ideal. Destroying the temple is messy and the amount of Respondeo that she will have to do after that is not really enticing for her taste so she have to calm down because that will not be fun. Slowly, the golden rays of light dimmed and disappeared around her body and she opened her eyes again and saw Hamish is now closer to her desk.

“I am sure Mr. Morton already told you what he saw. I cannot show you anything more than what I have already shown him”,

“Please, Vera…”

“Hamish, I buried that night at the back of my head for years. Isn’t it torture enough to bring it out once?” their eyes met, “Nothing will change. Cassie is back and I know that we’re done so stop pushing it. I have things to worry about and number one is finding that bastard who never fails to complicate my life”, she exclaimed.

She got on her feet and started waving books from her desk to the shelves. Using magic carelessly still makes her nauseous but only for a second as her body heals the effect of the cancer before it starts. With her temper rising, her magic just keeps on stirring inside her and she can feel her body keeping up with healing her inside.

“What are you talking about? Did Luis do this? Did he bring Cassie back?” he asked.

Vera found herself scoffing at that. Of course, in all of the things she just said to him, his mind still went towards Cassie and things that concern Cassie. The dead girl who killed her best friend on the day of her birthday for being what? A nice human being who just wanted to make her day by flying all the way from Tokyo to be spend time with her? The same dead girl who stirred up the darkness in her last best friend and awakened his taste for violence, power, and greed until she lost him too for it. Now, that ex-dead girl came back to take away the man that she loves. Of course, she wishes for her to just remain dead even though it sounds horrible. She just keeps ruining her life and taking everything but what would that make her? She already took away Hamish’s first love. Would she be the girl who will take her away from him again?

“He did. He went to my house or rather astral projected to my house to gloat about it. He offered me a deal”,

“What deal?” he asked again.

She kept her back turned to him.

“I undo my spell and he will undo his. I will remove my spell on the Fors Factoram and he will take back the incantation he used to bring Cassie back”, she took a deep breath, “I told him no, so now I must find a way to find him fast before he can find a way to remove my spell but I cannot do that if you will not leave and allow me to do my job”, she answered.

Hamish advances towards her and grabbed her by the arm. Vera spun too fast she felt dizzy for a moment. Her eyes found Hamish and when they flickered silver, she felt a wave of unexplained energy deep within her chest and that was it.

An energy blast pushed the both of them away from each other. Hamish landed back first on the cold hard floor while Vera hit the bookshelves before meeting the floor. She groaned at the impact before her cuts gradually healed. When she found Hamish’s eyes at the other side of the room, he looked bewildered.

“The others said it was our only chance to stop the Order, to stop the killings. We take out the head of the snake and everything goes back to normal. I was new to the group so I was not part of the team. I told them it was a bad idea but they were determined. They’re hungry for a kill. I told Cassie not to participate but they needed her. I couldn’t standby and do nothing so despite Randall’s plea for me to stay at the Den, I ran to follow Cassie and stop her from getting blood on her hands. It did not feel right at the time. Why kill other people who had not hurt anyone else? We got the practitioner who killed that student. Why kill the others too?”

Vera just listened and stayed at her corner.

“I got there and I saw two people on the road. There’s a wrecked black car that’s turned upside down. The others wolfed out and started charging towards those two people and that’s when something powerful knocked me out. The next thing I knew, Randall was waking me up, asking me to get up before we get caught. I opened my eyes and I saw Edward Coventry. Cassie was already on the ground. He was carrying a woman in his arms. Randall said everyone was dead and we needed to go”,

Hamish looked back at Vera who’s fighting the tears in her eyes from falling.

“…that was you. You’re the woman Edward was carrying in his arms that night. Sammy…was the other person on the road that I saw before I was knocked out. It was you and your magic that hit me. I can piece it all together now”, he narrated.

She was not sure how he was able to see it from her head by just touching her. She did not cast a spell nor did he, but he saw everything.

“I tried to save her hoping that will make the killings stop. One just needs to show some sort of compassion and humanity to let the other know there’s more to this life than death but I failed to do that. I’m sorry that her death had hurt you but I am not sorry that I felt nothing when Edward told me he killed her. She killed Sammy and he had not killed anyone. It was not fair”, she responded.

He can understand that. Vera put an end to the feud between the Order and the Knights by showing compassion towards them, by saving their lives even though they screwed her over so many times. He saw the pain Sammy’s death had caused her and he knows what Cassie and former Knights did was incredibly wrong. Vera has the right to feel the way she’s feeling.

“I’m sorry for not standing up by you yesterday. I know you don’t do things without a reason and I should have let you speak. I am sorry about Sammy. He seemed like a nice guy”, he apologized.

She smiled briefly.

“He was. I think you would have liked him too. He’s a more mature version of Mr. Carpio”, she muttered sadly.

Hamish got up and helped Vera get back on her feet.

“You were wrong earlier. The two of us…we’re not done. We will never be done”,

“Hamish, I understand. I will be okay. You don’t have to throw me a pity party”,

“Will you shut up for a moment and stop being a martyr?” he snapped and she stared at him with wide eyes. “I am not throwing you a pity party. I choose you, Vera. I loved Cassie and I always will but a lot has happened since she died. It took me years to move on but I did and now I love you. Her coming back is a surprise and I am glad that she gets a second chance at life but what I had with her was in the past. What I want…what I need is what I have with you. I love you, Vera Stone”, he added.

That almost left her speechless. It was not what she’s thinking at all. She’s so ready to give up, to accept a fate where she’s going to be alone forever but Hamish once again proven her wrong. He kept breaking down her walls.

“Do you really mean that? I don’t want to get my hopes up because it will fucking hurt if you leave”, she asked.

“I meant it with every fiber of my being”, he answered.

“I love you too, Hamish”, she said before meeting his lips with hers.

The kiss deepened and before they could get lost in the moment, Hamish pulled away and broke the kiss. Vera frowned at him but noticed the reason why. Her magic had crawled its way and enveloped Hamish’s body too. They are both glowing in golden light.

“Your eyes…” he mentioned before turning her to the direction of where the mirror is.

Her eyes got the same color as he does. She stared at both of their silver eyes and then to the magic hugging both of their bodies.

“I can feel _him_ …your hide. I can actually feel him”, she muttered.

It is strange. They can all feel each other like their hearts are beating as one. Every pulse, every emotions…they’re all the same.

“He can feel you too”, he affirmed.

“What’s happening?” she asked.

The way Hamish was able to access her memory with a single touch earlier tells her what she needs to know. They share more than love. It was his hide who had infected her with healing ability and now for some reason, his hide keeps them connected. When they touch, they feel and think as one. Tundra just achieved two champions without even realizing it.

“He’s quite honored to have a champion like you”, Hamish whispered.

The two were so engulfed with the new phase of their lives together that they had not heard the footstep approaching the office nor the sound when it happened. Hamish just felt the sting of it before he broke away from his connection with Vera. She leaned heavily on his right arm as she gasped. He immediately smelled her blood and saw where it’s coming from. There is a wound on her left torso, definitely rupturing her left lung which made it hard for her to breathe. It took him a second to realize it was not just a wound. It was a gunshot wound.

He turned and saw Cassie standing at the door with a gun on her hand. Her eyes are sore from crying as her hand kept on shaking. Randall, Gabrielle, Lilith, and Jack came in rushing behind Cassie. They were too late though. They must have tried to stop Cassie from going but even without Timber, she’s always been resourceful and clever. It’s no surprise that she will be able to outsmart them all.

“What are you doing, Cassie?” Hamish asked under his breath.

“She’s corrupted you, Hamish, brainwashed all of you. We’re not here to serve the Order. We’re here to eliminate them! I know you don’t see it because you’re blinded but I will help you. You know I will always help you. I am just completing the mission I failed to do five years ago”, she answered.

He always thought that Edward Coventry was the target that night but it turns out, Vera has always been their target. The Temple Magus five years ago and the Grand Magus now. Death has not taken away that mission from Cassie, and she’s always a follower, a Knight who never fails a mission.

Vera coughed and the bullet that entered her body was spit out of her torso and fell on the floor. She pushed herself up and got on her feet. Hamish can already feel her anger bubbling up. Their connection is still intact and Tundra is matching her temper.

“How are you still alive?” Cassie asked.

“I really tried to stay out of the way but you can’t leave it well enough alone, can you?” her eyes turned silver as Tundra stirred inside Hamish, “Edward is so going to love this”, Vera responded before she’s suddenly in front of Cassie.

She grabbed her gun, crushed it with one hand before tossing the girl out of her office with incredible force. Hamish tried his best to soothe Tundra inside of him but he’s just as angry as Vera and she’s pulling strength from the hide. A growl got tore from her throat before launching again at Cassie before something stopped her from ripping the girl’s throat at with her bare hands. She turned back and saw Hamish channeling her own magic and using it on her to stop her.

“That’s enough, Vera. It’s not worth it. There’s another way”, he said and it’s enough to calm both her and Tundra.


	26. Bridge

The pack along with Alyssa and Vera had settled with powdering Cassie so she would forget about what happened five years ago, being a Knight, and wanting to kill Vera. Lilith had volunteered to do it to spare Hamish of going through the whole thing. They gave her a new set of memories, one that Cassie will never be able to connect to being a Knight and the Order. Vera had strengthened the powder to make sure she will not relapse in the future and after that, they set Cassie on her way to her second chance in life.

While hanging out at the bar in the temple, the group discussed what happened inside Vera’s office when they arrived there. Vera’s healing ability is not new for them but the other things she did are. They did not miss how she was able to sprint from Hamish’s side to Cassie in a matter of seconds and she was able to use that much strength, not to mention the growl that was heard from her. Those things were new manifestation of her werewolf traits that they saw for the first time.

“Okay, how about Hamish being able to use magic like that? I’ve never seen anyone use magic without a spell other than Vera and Hamish did it and there’s no eruption that happened after that”, Randall noted.

“They’re connected”, Alyssa muttered.

“Connected?” Gabrielle asked.

“Yeah…I don’t know why I have not thought about it before. Tundra infected Vera, right? She was able to tap into Tundra’s traits and abilities just like Hamish because Tundra is inside him. That makes Tundra acts like a bridge between Hamish and Vera so if Vera can access the traits of being a werewolf, Hamish can also tap into Vera’s magic. What he did earlier, he was not using his own magic. He was channeling hers so there’s no need for any sacrifice because Vera does not need one to do magic”, she explained.

“Okay, so let’s say Jack had bitten you”, Randall turned to Jack, “…it does not mean you two have a fetish for that like the Vermish”, that made Jack roll his eyes, “…so he will be able to channel your magic too and you will be able to tap into the traits and abilities of Silverback?” he asked.

Alyssa only looked at Jack.

“I don’t think it works for everyone”, eyes turned on Jack, “I already asked Silverback about it when I visited him in the Collective Unconscious. Werewolf bite is indeed infectious to normal human beings but the link that it created between Vera, Hamish, and Tundra? Silverback thinks that it has to be accepted by all parties involved. When Vera was infected, she was fighting the cancer of Fors Factoram. Hamish was willing to try anything to save her life and that made Tundra also wanting the same. When she started healing on her own, Hamish was able to talk her into being okay with it since it’s curing her so Vera accepted whatever comes with being infected by Tundra. All of them were just open to one another, even Tundra”, Jack answered.

Lilith nodded.

“That’s why this is the first time this happened. Not all humans will accept being infected by a werewolf bite. Not all Knights will want to do anything to save everyone and not all hides will agree to their champions. Their case is quite special”, she agreed.

That made Gabrielle smile. She had always admired the two of them, not just their leaderships but also their faith on each other and how much they love one another. It’s rare to see couples like that nowadays.

“That’s because they are special and I hope we’ll be able to find Luis so we can stop him from ruining things for Vera and Hamish. They deserved to be happy too”, she muttered.

\------------------------------------

VERA’S HOUSE

Hamish made the decision to take her home after erasing Cassie’s memory. He knew and felt that Vera would definitely kill Cassie right then and there if he had not stopped her before it’s too late. He felt her rage as well as Tundra’s. The wound of Sammy’s death was reopened in her heart and Cassie trying to kill her again did not help. Her anger got the best of her and she lost it. Tundra would have lost it too if he did not do his best to reign him in. That would have been a mess if his hide ended up murdering Cassie for trying to kill his other champion. He would have been damaged for life.

“Drink this”, he said as he gave a glass to Vera.

She took a sip and glanced over to him.

“Do you have anything stronger?” she asked.

“None. That’s a special concoction I made to help you deal with the aftermath of transformation”, he answered.

She frowned.

“I did not transform, Hamish”, she muttered.

“I think in a way you did. You felt it too. You developed super speed, incredible strength, and you growled. It may have been your version of transforming since you physically can’t without Tundra inside you”, he pointed out.

Vera made a face and finished off the drink Hamish made her.

“I will stick to that version, thank you very much. In case you haven’t noticed, I love my clothes and it will be a pain if I keep fixing them every time they got ripped when I transform. Besides, I don’t like to roam around the woods naked”, she expressed.

“I wouldn’t mind seeing you roam around the woods naked”,

That comment just changed the atmosphere inside the house. It was quick and quite strong. When he put his hand over her bare thigh, it’s like a jolt of electricity that shot through the both of them.

“We’re still connected”, she muttered.

“I think we’re always connected, even before you became Tundra’s champion too”, he said.

He traced his fingers up and down her thigh and despite that being a little gesture, it tore a moan from her lips. She’s not only feeling her own pleasure but also his. At the same time, he is also feeling her pleasure and everything is amplified for the both of them.

“Bedroom. Now”, she demanded and Hamish is already carrying her to their bedroom.

They are not in a hurry but they’re eager to feel more, like an addict keep searching for that high. Hamish just ripped her dress and Vera did not protest at all. She also wanted to get out of that dress. First of all, that dress got a bullet hole on it and second, she just wanted to feel him on her skin. Hamish went down and ripped her underwear too before attacking her folds with his mouth.

“Fuck!” she screamed.

That reaction alone almost made Hamish come without being touched. The sensation she’s feeling is also the same for him and it made him so eager to give her more so he can feel more as well. Vera, on the other hand, is being overwhelmed by the pleasure she’s getting from his mouth plus what she’s getting from Hamish’s own pleasure. She feels like she’s just going to explode. She wanted to escape so she can grip at reality but she does not want him to stop either. Her knuckles are white from gripping at the sheets. When he added two fingers inside, her eyes just turned silver.

“I want to see you come with those eyes”, he said as he watches her drowning in ecstasy.

“I’m…I’m close…” she struggled to get out before he added another finger and she completely lost it.

Her lampshade exploded after her control over her magic slipped for a second before she got it back. As her orgasm hits her, she did not realize how loud she had screamed and how many profanities came out of her mouth. Hamish kept his eyes on her the whole time, completely in disbelief that he can cause this to Vera Stone.

Unable to control himself, he freed his member and thrusted into her which made them both gasped.

Can they even be any more connected than they are right now? Everything in their being is joined. The saying _what’s mine is yours, what’s yours is mine_ is literally true for the both of them.

“Tell me what you’re thinking”, he said as they lay side-by-side after making love to each other.

“Can’t you guess what I’m thinking right now?” she asked in curiosity.

“I can try and see it for myself but I am choosing not to. I don’t want to invade the privacy of your brilliant mind and I want you tell me things because you want to, not because I can read your thoughts”, he answered.

It took him an hour to figure out how to dial down their link to stop himself from being inside Vera’s head all the time. He knew she wouldn’t have liked it and he’s certain she’s doing the same for him.

“I was thinking that if that night had not happened, do you think we will be on the same side right now?” she asked.

Sammy’s death caused Edward to kill Cassie and her death paved the way for Hamish recruiting his pack and eventually Jack who then infiltrated the Order to take revenge on his father. Even though it hurts her so much, she couldn’t bring herself to regret that night anymore because if that night did not happen, she wouldn’t be with Hamish now and there won’t be an agreement between the Order and the Knights.

“A lot of things would have been different if that night had not happened. Lilith, Gabrielle and Jack wouldn’t be Knights. Edward Coventry would still be alive today. Praxis may have been dead if he’s still the Grand Magus because he would likely kill them all. I don’t know if I would still be a TA in Belgrave. The list can go on and on but what good would it do to list them down?” he held her tighter, “I know it’s cheesy but I believe that everything happens for a reason and this could be one of those. Something good came out of something horrible”, he answered.

Sammy would have liked Hamish. He would have teased her nearly every day for finally breaking down her walls and actually trusting someone to see her heart. He would have been able to knock some sense in Edward when he became obsessed with the Vade Maecum. Will he be happy that she got something out of his death when the target was on her back and not on his?

“If someone told me that years ago, I would have laughed but I have to agree with you. This time, something good came out of something horrible”, she replied.

He placed a kiss on her forehead.

“I love you”, he muttered.

“I love you too”, she responded before she drifted off to sleep.

\------------------------------------

FEW HOURS LATER

A jolt of pain woke Vera up as she gasped in the middle of the night. Their connection had woken up Hamish too and felt the invisible pain that Vera’s feeling.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” he asked while brushing off the sleep from his eyes.

She is still panting.

“The Fors Factoram…he was able to break my spell”, she looked back at him, “Luis had broken the spell. He can now perform the incantation and he will have unlimited access to magic”, she answered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for the positive feedbacks about the path this one is going. Happy New Year to all!!!!


	27. Sigillum Dei

The sun has not risen yet but Vera is already storming the temple with the loud clicking of her heels. She waved her hand to open the door before started yelling Latin. Hamish followed suit after he just phoned the others of what happened. He watched as her office slowly transformed into a new room he had not seen before. The fireplace pushed back and flipped around revealing a whole new set of bookshelves. He and Tundra can feel Vera’s magic brewing inside her like a gasoline just waiting for that tiny spark to blaze.

“ostende mihi”, she uttered and the second shelf revealed a secret compartment.

He saw her took out a box and placed it on her desk. She does not need to tell him not to touch it because the extreme power protecting the box is strong enough to tell him that itself. He watched as she focused on focusing her magic on her hand before opening it. He felt the sting when her skin touches the lock but she successfully got it opened.

“What is that?” he asked curiously.

“That is the Sigillum Dei Amulet. It is the Seal of God with names of the God and his angels all over it. It allows its bearer to have power over anything except his archangels. This was entrusted to the Hermetic Order of the Blue Rose eons ago for safekeeping. The church was at war and they couldn’t trust their own people to keep it safe so they gave it to us since they thought that no one would bother to search for it in a secret magic society”, she answered without tearing her eyes on the object.

“Is this going to help us stop Luis from whatever it is he’s planning to do?” he asked again.

She smiled a little.

“This is our last resort. No practitioner was able to use this successfully. No one was powerful enough and even with the Fors Factoram, I am a hundred percent certain that I am powerful enough to take on this so this amulet is our last option. It has the power to control almost everything. If I wear this, I will be able to use the full power of the Vade Maecum without needing to go through the whole bonding process. Fors Factoram is no match to the full power of the grimoire so that is going to stop Luis”, she explained.

His hand landed on her arm and he felt the fear in her. The idea of using the amulet actually scares her. She thinks she’s not worry enough to wear it. Aside from being powerful, the amulet requires to have a blessed vision of God and angels and Vera is the least religious person in that regards.

“We’ll do our best to stop him before it comes to this but if it does, we believe in you, Vera. We believe that you’re worthy enough to protect magic and all of us”, he said.

That tore her gaze from the amulet to Hamish’s eyes. He tapped into her emotions and felt what she’s feeling.

“Thank you”, she replied.

\-----------------------------------

BELGRAVE UNIVERSITY

Chaos ensues throughout the campus as Luis strolls around with the full force of Fors Factoram. The students and school staff ran for their lives as the Knights and other disciples helped them get to safety. Gabrielle had already called Hamish to tell him that Luis is on campus and he said that he and Vera’s on their way. Jack, Lilith, and Randall tried to hold him off for as long as they can until help arrives but he just proven to be too much for them to handle.

With one blow, Luis sent the three flying. They would have hit the hard brick wall of the school if it was not for Vera who stopped them midair and set them down gently.

A smile formed upon Luis’ face. His plan worked. He knows attacking the school will draw her out. She’s the Chancellor after all. The Knights lined up along with Vera and faced Luis in the middle of the school’s soccer field. Vera had already instructed her disciples to take this time to get everyone out of the school and powder them afterwards so they wouldn’t remember seeing magic.

“It felt wonderful, Vee! I can see why you’re being selfish about it and keeping it for yourself”, he exclaimed.

Behind him, Vera saw Alyssa nodding from the edge of the field. She nodded back at her and Alyssa casted a barrier around them, locking them inside the field to keep the fight in the area. If they’re going to get messy, might as well keep it inside the soccer field.

“How many people have you sacrificed to break my spell?” she asked him.

“…quite a few. You made it very tricky but I shouldn’t expect less from you”, he answered smugly.

Her spell entails a human sacrifice of a specific gender and age. It would only be performed by another person who wants to break her spell without her permission and Luis managed to discover that.

“That power is going to cost you your life. Is it really worth it?” she asked again.

Why does she sound concern? The man literally brought a dead girl back to life to ruin hers and now openly attacked her school to provoke her. Even being an asshole and her current enemy, she still wouldn’t wish him to suffer the cancer Fors Factoram brings. She wouldn’t wish that for anyone.

“It’s supposed to but I found a loophole. You kept yourself alive all these years by healing yourself from time to time to slow down the cancer, right? Then I wondered what will happen if I can just continuously heal on my own without having to cast healing incantation every single time I use magic? Guess what…I found a way to be just that”, he responded as his eyes then turned silver.

A werewolf…he’s also a werewolf.

The hides were able to catch up after being shocked for a second.

“Alpha”, Hamish muttered.

Lilith turned to Jack with a frown.

“I thought Alyssa hid Alpha’s locker in a safe place?” she asked.

Alyssa shaking her head in disbelief outside the barrier.

“She did but Luis found it”, he answered.

“…and now, he’s Alpha’s champion. Just great”, Randall spat.

That would explain why his magic is not only amplified by Fors Factoram. His magic is also backed up by Alpha and god knows how much that hide hates her after she shot Salvador. Luis snarled before charging towards her but Hamish beat him to it. He and Tundra are already on him before he was able to reach Vera. He was then joined by the rest of the Knight to fight Alpha. It did not take long for Luis and Alpha to shake the pack off of them before he casted a freezing spell on all of them except for Vera who was able to deflect the spell towards her.

“You cannot fight me, Vee. I’m indestructible! I have all the power in the world and there’s nothing that can stop me”, he declared.

For some reason, Vera can see Edward in Luis. Both of them had their moments. Both of them weren’t an asshole when she first met them. She cared for the both of them, hoped that they would turn around and change for the better. Now, both of them lost all the things that made them human and got so drunk with power and their ambition for more. Magic is supposed to be a good thing, a symbol of hope, possibilities, but all it did to most people is corrupt their hearts until they turned into stone. It’s not magic’s fault. It can’t help it if some people couldn’t just handle the responsibility it comes with.

“After all the research you’ve done for magic, you still failed to get the gist of it. There’s no indestructible magic or unstoppable practitioner. Magic is not built that way. Everything has a balance and even if you think nothing can stop you, believe me there is”, she responded.

Luis scoffed at her.

“…and who’s going to stop me? You? You can’t even save yourself! You can’t even save your own daughter!”

Vera glared at him as her eyes turned silver too. It came as a shock for Luis who has no idea she’s also a champion…of sorts.

“You’re not a werewolf. Alpha is certain of that”, he muttered in shock.

“Why am I not surprised by that?” she commented before launching at him.

None of the Knights had seen a fight like that before. The two are just a match of each other. Both are powered by Fors Factoram. Both are powered by werewolves. When one landed a blow, the other will counter and land one too. The magic that’s coming off of them is slowly cracking the barrier put around the field and she tried her best to repair it.

“Why fight, Vee? Why stop me? You can have it all but I can’t? How’s that fair?” Luis exclaimed as they fought.

“…because we’re not supposed to have it! I did not know it back then and I regretted it the moment I realized my mistake but I can’t take it back. All I can do is to spare the others who want to perform it and make the same mistake that I did! You can’t have it all because it’s not how the world works!” she exclaimed back and attacked again.

Luis turned his next spell towards Hamish which distracted Vera. She caught the spell on time but she failed to deflect Luis’ next attack and she hit the barrier forcefully. Hamish groaned when he felt the pain that attack caused her. He focused on tapping Vera’s magic so he can channel it to free himself and the pack. They cannot remain frozen while she fights Luis alone. It’s not something he had practiced before. Using her magic felt wrong but this is not the time to evaluate that. She needs help and they can help. Vera had felt Hamish channeling her magic. It will be hard on him to reach it since she’s keeping a close guard on it but they needed to move. No one is going to be able to win in this fight, not when they’re so match. She let go some of her magic as she started glowing in golden rays of light. Soon, Hamish is glowing too which confused Luis.

“What are you two doing?” he asked.

“Connecting…” Hamish answered with a smirk before breaking his spell and all of the Knights attacked him at once.

It allowed Vera to breathe and think. As she watches them all fight, she knows how it’s going to end. Despite the Knights determination to fight Luis and defeat him, they’re simply no match for him. Hamish can stand it for some time but he cannot channel her magic for so long. It’s not going to be enough. In her moment of deciding, Hamish felt her reached her choice which stopped him on his tracks.

“No, Vera—”

She cut him off by waving her hands and it sent the Knights outside the barrier.

“What just happened?” Lilith asked.

Alyssa quickly conjured robes for all of them.

“She just pushed us out of the dome”, Gabrielle answered

Hamish walked over the barriers and tried to channel her magic again so he can get back in but the barrier is preventing him from reaching Vera. He can still feel her but not enough so he can tap into her magic again.

“Take it down. Take the barrier down”, he said to Alyssa.

“I can’t. I’m sorry. She strictly instructed me never to take it down or allow it to break until Luis is dead”, she refused.

Hamish slammed his fists onto the barrier in desperation.

“Vera! Let me in! Stop! We can still fight!” he yelled.

Vera’s eyes glanced over to him with an apologetic look. He can feel her apology and sadness for pushing him out. They wanted to fight but he knows at the back of his brain that they’re no match for Luis and Vera saw that clearly very early on. She allowed him to channel her magic so he could break them free but not fight Luis. She was already planning on pushing them all out of the barrier.

“One on one…I like it, Vee. I’m a monogamist at heart”, Luis mocked.

Her hand went over the neckline of her top before pulling out the amulet. Hamish stopped hammering the barrier when he saw it. That’s why she’s been holding back on her magic. She’s been wearing it the whole time.

“Adde me dignus huius virtutis”, she uttered before Hamish felt the rush of magic that surged through her.

The amulet glowed brightly as Vera allowed her magic to flow through and around her. Her eyes remained silver as Tundra keep up with healing her as the overwhelming magic tries to tear apart her health. As her eyes landed on Luis, something else became visible on her hand.

“It’s the Vade Maecum Infernal”, he whispered in disbelief.


	28. Not The Worst Person In The World

The amulet allowed Vera to actually summoned the grimoire and holding it now in her hands, there’s no wall preventing her from feeling its full power. It’s when she heard the voice.

_‘It’s tempting, isn’t it?’_

She felt her heart skipped a beat.

_‘Edward?’_

_‘Who else do you think? Definitely not your werewolf boyfriend. Now, that’s something I have not foreseen. You, of all people, fucking a werewolf’_

_‘This is not real. You’re just in my head, a hallucination’_

_‘I wish this is all hallucination so I can forget discovering that news. How can you stomach fucking that werewolf after they killed Sammy?’_

_‘He’s not the one who killed Sammy’_

_‘No, he’s not. His ex-girlfriend did’_

_‘…and you killed her’_

_‘She’s not dead anymore, is she? You let her go because of him. She does not deserve to have a second chance in life. Sammy does!’_

_‘Ed, stop. Sammy wouldn’t want that. You knew him. We both did. You already killed her once, tortured her. That’s enough’_

_‘High and mighty Vera Stone…if I had known all it would take is that amulet to use the Vade Maecum, I wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of sacrificing either Maddox or Jack’_

_‘That’s why I never told you. I can’t let you end up like Luis. You may not understand it but I did it for you and for your sons. Deep down, you wouldn’t want to become a monster’_

He chuckled.

_‘How is it that everyone in the world both living and the dead thinks I’m the worst person in the world and you don’t? I ordered Alyssa Drake to kill you’_

_‘…because you’re my Ed. You’re always be my Ed. We’re the gang, remember? You and Sammy talked about protecting me and supporting me. You’re not the worst person in the world. You just lost your way. I know why you really want to bond with the book. You wanted to bring him back and cure me. I know that you knew about my cancer. I also knew that if you succeeded, you would also bring my daughter back because you knew that would make me happy. You had all these wonderful ideas and good intentions. It’s just that, your way to get them was bad. You sent Ms. Drake to kill me because you couldn’t do it yourself. If you really want me dead so badly, I would be. The others may think the worst of you but I have always known you, Ed. You’re my best friend’_

_‘Sammy always said you’re the smartest one out of the three of us. Well then…would you please kill that fucker for me? He’s been getting in my nerves since he showed up. I would have done it myself but as you can see, I am tied up to this book. Seriously, Vera…your taste in men is slightly questionable’_

That made her laugh a little.

_‘Trust me. I got it right this time’_

_‘Then I shouldn’t keep away any longer. If you want to talk, you know how to contact me. I’ll always going to be here. Trust the amulet. It knows you’re worthy. Go and kick his ass’_

Her eyes shot open just in time to see Luis charging towards her but the magic blast that came out of her pushed him away. The grimoire opened on its own to a certain page. Vera put her hand above it and the page glowed.

“No!” Luis yelled.

Before he can get to her again, he dropped on his knees and started screaming in pain. Vera gradually ripped Alpha out of his body and did not bother to make it painless. Once the hide is out of him, she sent it back to where its locker is.

“I gave you all the chance in the world not to go through with this but you did not listen. You’re not equipped to handle the responsibility magic comes with just like you failed on taking responsibility when I told you about my daughter. No matter how good your intentions were at wanting to cure the world, you will never achieve it if your self-interest is bigger than your desire to help”, she said to him.

Luis glared at her and focused on putting all of the magic he can bear into one big murder spell before casting it on Vera. The amulet shielded her from the attack. Just like what Edward said, it thinks her to be worthy.

“You’re not taking this away from me! I will not let you! I will not—”

Nausea hits Luis and his nose started bleeding.

“That’s what it really cost to have unlimited access to magic. No one should ever go through that, not even you”, she muttered before the Vade Maecum flipped its pages again.

As she sets her hand on it, Luis suddenly stopped breathing and dropped dead on the ground. Vera had closed the grimoire and sent it back to where Jack had hid it before shattering the barrier around the field. After that, she walked towards Luis’ body and took the incantation out of his pocket.

“Vera”, she heard Hamish called.

She turned to him and smiled. It’s done. It’s over. Those were the last things in her mind before she collapsed in his arms.

\------------------------------------

TEMPLE

Hamish quickly removed the amulet from her neck and put it back inside the box on her desk. Tundra is working very hard to restore her health since the amulet and her use of magic earlier had stopped his hide from doing its work. That magic was just too much to catch up on and the amulet was amplifying it. Tundra’s got a lot of catching up to do in healing her but the hide assures Hamish that he can do it. He just needs time so he lets the hide to do its thing while Vera laid down on her sofa.

“Is she going to be alright?” Jack asked.

“Tundra said she will be. He’s still working on healing her inside. He got left behind earlier because of the amulet”, Hamish answered.

“That was a scary necklace”, Jack noted.

“It was, but we can trust Vera. You know she’s not the type to seek power like Luis”, he muttered.

“I know. She’s not like my father”, Jack mentioned.

Hamish then turned to Jack.

“I think we all didn’t know him that much”, Jack frowned at him, “Your father may have helped Vera defeat Luis. I am not saying he’s faultless nor he’s a good man, but he may not have been the worst person in the world”, he shared.

Jack was about to say something but Hamish only pointed towards his head before glancing over to Vera and he got his answer. He just has to wait for her to wake up and get better to confirm it.

\----------------------------------

It was ten o’clock in the evening when Vera came to after hours of Tundra working on restoring her health. Her hand went up to her chest and found that the amulet was missing.

“Don’t worry. It’s back to its box although you may have to do your thing to hide it inside this wall again”, Hamish said.

He’s sitting across from her, nursing a cup of coffee. She glanced over the shelf and found the box placed inside. Vera then silently casted the spell that hid the secret shelves from sight and restoring the usual wall and the fireplace in her office.

“How long was I out?” she asked.

“More than twelve hours. Tundra worked a lot in healing you. You used one hell of magic earlier”, he answered.

She groaned and fixed her hair.

“Yes, and I have no intention of doing that again. It sounds and looks amazing but trust me, it’s not that all glamorous”, she complained.

Despite having healed by Tundra, the hide missed her headache which feels like a hangover.

“I know the feeling”, he only muttered.

She glanced over to him and saw what he meant. She also felt a lot more than that.

“I’m sorry for pushing you away like that. I couldn’t have all of you inside the barrier when I use the amulet and the Vade Maecum. It was my first time doing that and a lot of things could have gone wrong. Keeping you out of the barrier ensured your safety as well as the others”, she apologized.

He knows that. He just couldn’t help but worry so much about her. She’s right about a lot of things could have gone wrong and if it did, there would be nothing he could have done to save her because she kept him out.

“I understand but it does not mean I feel okay with it”, he simply said. There’s no need to say much more because he knows she already know the complete thought in his head with regards to what happened earlier.

“I talked to Edward. He’s stuck inside the book and when I got it in my hands, I was able to talk to him. He helped me in accessing the grimoire. In his desire to bond with it, he ended up being a part of the book. He was the one who allowed Jack to use the grimoire to resurrect Alyssa”, she shared.

Despite what Edward did to Cassie, throwing blames at this point is kinda useless. No party is blameless. The Order had a part to play in the bad blood just like the Knights had theirs, and during that years of feud, too many people were hurt and damaged. Cassie was molded into believing all Order members are evil and she acted upon it. Sammy’s death prompted Edward into believing werewolves are monsters and therefore, he needed more power so he could better protect his people and bring back the ones he lost. Everyone is a victim and everyone is a participant.

“He’s definitely not the worst person in the world”, he reiterated and she smiled at him knowing he had listened to her conversation with Edward in her head.

“Will you tell Mr. Morton that? I would like to but answering his multiple questions is a bit exhausting and right now, I just wanted to go home and rest, maybe go for a massage tomorrow”, she requested.

Hamish chuckled.

“I’ll take care of it and why do you have to go for a massage tomorrow? I can give you one later”, he replied.

She arched an eyebrow and then opened the door of her office.

“Well, we better get going. You’re not getting off the hook with that promise”, she said and grabbed her bag and coat.

He quickly followed and grabbed his.

“Oh, I don’t intend to back away from that. You will have your massage and more”, he replied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this one has been a fun ride. This is it for me because I am feeling merciful and I want to give our Vermish a rest from all the trouble and problems and heartaches I put them through with this fic. Don't worry though, there will be an epilogue!


	29. EPILOGUE

A life without Luis, Praxis, and Victor has been fruitful for Vera and the Knights. Things had run smoothly and everything went back to normal. Her house sort of became the second Den for the wolves since they’re already there raiding her fridge and playing her console. It irritates her at first but the sound of them laughing and teasing one another just brought more light into her home so she let them stay almost every single night until it’s late enough that Hamish will kick them out so they can have some privacy. Werewolf hearing knows no bounds and no walls.

Her health has been better than ever, thanks to Tundra’s assistance. There’s also no need for her to use excessive magic anymore so Hamish can relax. Jack had come to terms with Edward, well not entirely, but he’s less mad now that he knows his father helped him bring back the love of his life and defeat Luis. Vera wanted them to have peace in their hearts at the very least and even though it may take years for Edward to redeem himself in his son’s eyes, helping them survive was a start.

“Okay, what’s going on here?” she asked when they found them in the kitchen arguing with one another.

They’re scrambling around a bunch of magazines and brochures.

“Arts or science…which is better?” Hamish asked her.

She frowned at them.

“Please say science”, Randall muttered.

“Arts”, Lilith said in contrast.

“Science”, Alyssa chimed in.

“Science”, Gabrielle supplied.

“I am arts”, Hamish added.

“Arts”, Nicole said last.

It confused Vera even more. What is this voting even mean?

“I am not in the mood yet for charades so might as well tell me what’s going on here”, she demanded.

“They’re helping me choose which field I should pursue. I am stuck. I can’t decide whether I go with Philosophy or Chemistry”, Jack explained.

Vera glanced over the magazines and brochures on the counter and smirked.

“Philosophy is not entirely an art though. It’s not also a branch of science but an antecedent of science. It is also connected with art but not entirely a form of it so with Philosophy, you’ll get both worlds”, she answered.

They all looked at her like she’s from another planet.

“What?” she asked when she noticed.

“You never told us about your degree. Which field you took?” Lilith asked in curiosity.

“Physics. I took up physics before I went to medicine and psychiatry”,

“Hold up…you’re a doctor?” Randall asked in disbelief.

Vera only made a face and shrugged.

“Got too many titles on my name. It sounds weird already. I also have a degree in Anthropology and Sociology, tried going to business once and it bored me to death”, she answered.

“Jeez, that’s too many schooling for one lifetime”, Gabrielle expressed.

Vera chuckled with that.

“Well, you can’t really blame me. I don’t have a social life. My time revolved around the school and the Order. I spent my free time studying”, she explained.

She was only Temple Magus at the time so her responsibility was not as grand as the one Grand Magus has. Jack stared at her in awe.

“I think I’ll do that”, she frowned at him. “I’m doing both. What else am I going to do? I don’t run a school and so far, the Order is doing great. Might as well take the time to improve my brain”, he decided.

It made Vera smile.

“Good luck to you, Mr. Morton. I have no doubt that you can do it”, she muttered.

She grabbed her bag and was about to head to her room when her vision sways and she almost bumped into her vase if it was not for Hamish who was already behind her.

“You okay?” he asked in concern.

“Yeah…just got lightheaded there for a moment”, she answered.

Well, to be honest, she’s been feeling that for a few days now. Plus, she’s been sore and tired even though she’s not that extremely busy and stressed out.

“Should I take you to the bedroom or do you want to sit down for a moment? Randall cooked lasagna, you’re favorite”, Hamish asked again.

Vera wanted to choose the latter but when she heard the word lasagna, it just made her stomach turned and she pulled herself away from Hamish and run straight to the bathroom.

“I know she and I started on the wrong foot but no need to insult my cooking without even tasting it”, Randall muttered.

Hamish had followed Vera into the bathroom and saw her heaving at the toilet bowl. He held back her hair and waited for her to be done before he guided her to the sink and allowed her to wash off her face.

“What’s going on with you?” he asked.

He tried to use their link to get a grasp of what she’s feeling but he couldn’t anything resembling her cancer. Plus, he’s sure Tundra has been healing her.

“I don’t know. I just feel weird these past few days. I get tired so easily and I get dizzy sometimes. I’m sore especially in my—” her words died

“In your what?” he waited for continuation.

Suddenly, he felt Tundra literally rejoicing inside of him. Vera must have felt it too because she turned to him with a death glare.

“What is going on?” he asked still clueless at what’s happening.

“It’s Tundra, isn’t it?” she asked him back.

“Tundra what? What did he do?” he fired back in confusion.

Vera groaned and he felt her annoyance towards their hide.

“Well, he’s going to reveal this to you anyway so might as well say it now. I’m pregnant, Hamish”, she answered.

“Pregnant as in pregnant?” he asked.

“Yes, pregnant as in I have a growing being inside of me right now kind of pregnant”, she answered.

“…but, aren’t you on the pill?” he asked again.

“I am but apparently, _someone_ thought it would be a great idea to remove its effects on my body”, she answered while sending another glare towards Tundra.

Hamish pursed his lips upon realizing why she’s so frustrated. Tundra removed the pill’s effect on her body, leaving them with an unprotected sex for god knows how long.

“I am sorry. I did not know why Tundra did that”, she rolled her eyes around, “…uhm, don’t you want it?” she turned to him, “I mean a baby? I know the last time has not been great but, was it so bad to have one with me?” he found himself asking.

Did he ever think about having a child before? The answer is never, not until Vera.

“Are you serious? You do want to have a baby?” she asked in disbelief.

“Why not? I never cared for it before but I’ll do it with you”, he answered.

“Hamish, this is not just any assignment or task to take on. This is lifetime work. Raising a kid is forever”, she reminded him.

“Vera, I think my experience in raising kids at the Den qualifies. I just don’t know how to change a diaper”, he pointed out.

She laughed at that and wiped her eyes.

“Are we really going to do this?”

“Only if you want to”, he answered.

Vera laughed again and pulled him into her arms.

“Of course, I do…with you”, she planted a kiss onto his lips before sending a flare of annoyance towards Tundra through their link. “Although I would have appreciated a little warning, big guy”, she said directly to the hide which they both felt responded only with a big laugh.

“Come on, let’s get out of this bathroom”, he said and ushered her outside.

They both stopped when they found the others waiting just outside with big grins on their faces.

“You eavesdropped”, Vera deadpanned.

“We have werewolf hearing”, Jack reminded her.

“So it’s true? You’re pregnant?” Alyssa asked excitedly.

“This is not how I imagine the announcement will be but yes, I am”, Vera answered.

They all cheered and pulled her into a group hug. She tried to break free but they did not allow her and just smothered her with their arms while Hamish laughed.

“I am decorating the nursery room!” Lilith announced.

“Hey, I am choosing the theme”, Gabrielle said.

“The hell you are”,

“I got better taste than you in design”,

“That’s true”, Jack supplied which earned him a glare from Lilith.

“There’s not going to be a nursery room or even a baby if you smother me to death”, Vera complained and they all let her go.

“Sorry, just excited to have a new pup”, Randall apologized with a big smile.

Vera groaned.

“Please don’t call my baby that”, she muttered.

Lilith started running upstairs yelling that she’ll pick a room for the nursery followed by Gabrielle who insisted on being in-charge with the interior. Alyssa and Jack ran after them before Randall decided to join the fun leaving Hamish and Vera downstairs.

“They do realize this is still my house, right?” she muttered in disbelief.

He pulled her into his arms.

“Let them be. They’re just happy our family is growing”, he said and it warmed her heart to hear the hope in his voice.

“So we’re really doing this”, she breathed out loud.

“Yes, we are and I can’t wait”, he confirmed.

They nuzzled their noses before Vera frowned.

“Just don’t let Randall call our baby a pup”, she requested which sent Hamish into a fit of laughter.

**~~THE END~~**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this has been fun. Thank you for reading this fic. I appreciate all the positive feedbacks and enthusiasm towards this experiment of mine. Let's keep the fics coming because god knows how much the show deserves another season but hey, let's keep it alive in here and we'll get through this. THANK YOU!!!

**Author's Note:**

> So, i have taken inspiration from Penny Dreadful so if anyone of you is familiar with that show, you'll get what i was trying to do here. 
> 
> let me know what you think of this one.


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